Pandora's Sentence
by cantkeepmymusictomyself
Summary: Pandora has let evils out of her famous box, and now the gods are in trouble. It's up to her, along with some friends she meets on the way, to set things to rights. Part One of Pandora's Prison
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Prologue  
Zeus looked down at the Earth. He pulled Hera to him and hugged her.

"Haven't we created something magnificent?" he said to her.

She looked at him. "I'm just your wife," she said. "You slept with everything else under the sun to make all this." She shot a glare over at Athena. "And she came out of your thigh! How did you get that to work?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Where the hell did I come from in the first place? Who made me this way, or did I just spring out exactly like this?"

Hera frowned. "I hate you when you go all philosophical like this."

Zeus grinned at her. "No you don't." He eyed a few of the humans down in the valley below. "Keep an eye on that family there."

Hera looked. "Are you talking about Prometheus and Epimetheus? What's wrong with them?"

Zeus shook his head. "Not just them. It's Pandora we really need to keep an eye on."

Hera threw her hands in the air. "You didn't."

Zeus grimaced. "I did. I gave her curiosity."

She turned to him with her hands on her hips. "You know what curiosity does. Look at what happened to the Egyptians! They worship cats!"

Zeus chuckled. "They definitely should not have gone swimming in the Nile."

Hera turned back to the family of humans. "So you gave Pandora curiosity." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I also see you gave her beauty and wisdom. You gave her beauty and wisdom to rival that of Aphrodite and Athena. How do they feel about that?"

He shrugged. "They're not threatened. They're goddesses, just like you. Pandora is merely a mortal. What can she do?"


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter One

Fire from the Gods

Winter had arrived earlier than normal this year. My brother-in-law, Prometheus, had been shearing sheep out in the field, so I could turn the wool into warm clothing. The only problem was, he had started late. People we knew were starting to freeze because of the cold.

"Damn it, Epimetheus," I said, shivering. "Can't your idiot brother ever start anything on time?"

He chuckled and moved closer to me to share body heat. "You know him. He's first to complain, last to do anything to help anyone."

I huddled as close as I could. The wool blankets from last year had been worn down, and retained too much water. The water froze in the wool, making them no good. I had to do better this year in making them.

"Do you think I could put feathers on the clothes?" I asked.

Epimetheus raised an eyebrow at me. "What would feathers do?"

I shrugged. "You've seen the ducks. They don't get weighed down by water whenever they land in the lake, nor when they fly in a rainstorm. It must be the feathers that are the key to that."

Epimetheus laid back, thinking. "It's possible. Are you going to catch a duck and pluck it to make these?"

I looked at him with my best pleading eyes.

"No, Pandora, absolutely not," he said. "It's your idea, you have to catch the duck to prove it will work."

"But you're the best hunter we have!" I implored. "You have to help me." I pouted, hoping that would get the best of him.

He frowned. "I hate you sometimes, you know that?" he said, getting up. "Prometheus should be back soon. Get started on the blankets before we all freeze to death."

I grinned and threw my arms around him. "Thank you, dear!" I kissed him deeply. The action filled me with warmth that I didn't think I could get from just a blanket.

He kissed back briefly. "I'll return with a duck as soon as I can," he said. "Don't get into any trouble. You know what happened last time."

I crossed my arms like a child. "You and Prometheus got Sophia and I out of that pit well enough last time. It was only a few hours."

"After which you were about to kill each other," he said, grinning. "Seriously, how are you two best friends when you fight all the time?"

I shrugged. "Opposite personalities complement each other, I suppose." I shoved him towards the door. "Now get going! Hopefully we can eat the duck while it's still warm."

He went off across the field toward the lake. Most of the flocks had already gone south, abut there were still some that continued to pass over. Perhaps they hadn't realized that winter would be coming so soon either.  
I soon became much too cold to stay by myself, so I decided to check on Prometheus' progress. He was in the field on the opposite side of our village. At least the walk there would help me stay warm if I kept moving.

I didn't see many people around. Some were bringing in the last of the dying crops to store up for the winter. Some were bringing in small game. Most, I assumed, were huddling together in their homes.

We all tried to share what we had. There were only one hundred and twenty of us, and that number grew smaller every year. Occasionally there would be a birth, but the cold was unforgiving. There was no way for us to combat it forever. Even the sheep wouldn't last much longer.

I passed the town center, and waved to Sophia. She nodded back at me, but seemed distracted by something. I normally would have stopped to chat, but something told me to go see Prometheus.

I started running when I got to the edge of the village, and felt the cold air enter my body. It was harsh in my throat, but knowing that this would keep me warmer than staying still kept me going.

I finally reached the field, and could see a few sheep gathered in one space, all facing the same direction. I trotted over to find out what was going on.

In the center of their circle (which was very odd because some were facing towards, and some away from us, but all facing the same direction), was Prometheus attempting to shear one sheep, but it kept trying to pull away from him. In the process of struggling, it was getting cut from the knife. I shook my head. It would be so much easier if the sheep would just stay still.

I then noticed that it was pulling in the direction that all the other sheep were facing.

Once Prometheus had finally succeeded in removing the wool from the sheep, it made its move. The whole flock started herding towards the hills close by. What could they be going after?

"Are you all right, Prometheus?" I asked him once the sheep had all passed.

He nodded. "Yes. They all just passed around me." He looked towards the hills. "I wonder what has them in such a state."

"I don't know," I said. "Should we follow them and find out?"

He frowned at me. "Don't start this again," he said. "The last thing I need to do is to try to pull you from another pit."

"Well, we'll obviously be careful," I said. "We'll follow them exactly. If they don't fall into a pit, then neither will we. And if they do fall into a pit, then we can avoid it."

He made a face. "I don't know. Maybe you should go home," he said.

I shook my head. "Epimetheus went out to get a duck."

He raised an eyebrow. "You hungry for duck tonight?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, we can use their feathers to help keep water off of the wool blankets!"

He considered the notion. "Okay, I'll bite. That should keep the blankets useful, I imagine."

I nodded. "Yes!" I gestured towards the sheep. "Now can we go?"

"Fine," he said, exasperated. "But I'm not pulling you out of any pits."

"Deal," I said, and set off immediately after the sheep. Prometheus was close behind.

We didn't have to go very far. The hills by the field formed a bowl shape, and the sheep had gathered in a circle around the center of the bowl. They were all facing the center as well, and moving in and out of each other, as if to let each of them see what was so interesting.

"What is it?" I asked Prometheus, who had better eyes than I did.

"I don't know," he said. "I can't tell." Ever the shepherd, he moved between the sheep gently towards the center point. When there, he knelt down.

I couldn't see what he did there, but when he stood up, he turned to me with a strange look on his face.

"I...I think I've found something!" he exclaimed.

His outburst startled the sheep, and they scattered. I tried to move between them as gracefully as he did, but they were too skittish. I had been thoroughly bumped and bruised by the time I reached where Prometheus was standing. I looked down to see what the sheep had found so interesting, and my eyes widened.

It was like looking at the sun, only not so bright. And now since I was so close to it, I could feel why the sheep kept moving around to allow each other access to it. It was warm!

I reached a hand out to it and felt my blood start to move again. I smiled.

"What is this?" I asked.

Prometheus shook his head. "I'm not sure," he said. "But look! It's coming from the wood."

He was right. The bright warmth was coming from sticks, twigs, and branches piled together on the ground. I heard a crackling sound coming from it, and noticed some of the branches had turned white, and then black. As I watched, a black piece crumbled away from the rest and landed in a heap on the ground.

I turned to Prometheus. "Can we take this with us?"

He looked at me, surprised. "What?"

"This will save us!" I said. It's warmth, and light, and can help us more than any blankets in the winter!"

He shrugged. "True, but where did it come from?" he asked. "And how do we get more of it. You see? It does not come from the black pieces, but turns the wood black, and moves on."

I sighed. Here was something that would help us survive, and he simply would not see it for that. "So what do we do?" I asked.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "We forget about it and go get the wool. We will need more blankets this year."

I sneered at him and stomped away. The sheep decided that we weren't going to bother them anymore, and collected around the bright warmth coming from the wood.

Prometheus stayed behind, presumably to continue shearing the sheep. I went back to where the flock had been earlier and gathered up the wool he had already collected.

It was a relatively short trip back to the village, and I didn't see anyone out and about. Night was coming on, and it always got colder at night.

I arrived home and got to work making the blankets. Epimetheus was not back yet, so he must not have gotten a duck. I hoped he would be here soon, because we would need the blankets to stay dry more than ever now.

As I sewed, I silently cursed Prometheus for making us leave what could have saved us much work.

A little while later, my husband arrived home, sweating, exhausted, and to my disappointment, empty handed.

"Couldn't catch one," he said.  
The disappointment must have shown on my face, because he held his hands up. "Now don't look at me like that," he said. "I tried my best, but there are so few now, with them all heading south for this blasted winter.

I sat back against the wall with the wool scattered around me. "So if these get wet, they'll be no good," I said. "Do you understand that? We will freeze!"

He hung his head. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry I let you down."

Seeing him look so pitiful brought me down from my pedestal. "It will be all right. We'll find another way." I thought for a moment. "Maybe chicken feathers will do the trick!"

He put his hand to his chin and began stroking his beard. He smiled. "And once the hen is plucked, it's easier to eat." He looked at me and kissed me lightly.

"I like chicken better than duck anyway," I said, laughing.

Meanwhile, Prometheus continued to inspect the bright warmth that the sheep had gathered around. Of course, he had sheared several of them. The village did need blankets, after all. Now the sheep that he had sheared were crowding nearer to the warmth. The others were letting them nearer. It was as if they knew that their brothers needed the warmth more than they did.

Prometheus scowled. Didn't these blasted sheep know that the humans needed it more? The humans weren't born with a wealth of warm clothing. They had to work for it.

He got closer to the wood. He wondered what would happen if he touched the warmth. He felt the heat grow the closer he got to it. He smiled as the warmth spread through his numb fingers and into his entire body. Then he touched the warmth.

At once he drew back, shouting. Never before had he imagined this much pain coursing through him. He put his fingers into his mouth to cool them down.

It was not simply warmth. It was heat. Heat in its purest form.

He looked at the wood. This was a dangerous substance. But it could mean the saving of his people.

"Mortal." The voice came from nowhere. Prometheus looked around, but saw nobody.

"Who's there?" he asked. He held up his knife. "I am armed, and though I do not wish to hurt you, I shall if you provoke me."

At once, the sheep scattered as a huge presence stood among them. Well, it did not stand so much as sit jauntily on top of the nearest hill.

Prometheus backed away quickly, but kept his knife aloft. "This is a trick," he said. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The figure laughed. "Do not think that you can harm me, mortal," he said. "I am Hephaestus."

Prometheus' eyes widened. He abruptly dropped the knife and knelt to the ground. "My lord," he said. "I apologize for my insolence."

Hephaestus waved his words away. "You are wise to mistrust that which you do not see and experience for yourself. That is why I waited until you were alone to appear."

Prometheus kept his head down, but his brow furrowed. "My lord?"

"The girl." Hephaestus said the words as if spitting them out. "Pandora. Your brother's wife."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, my lord," said Prometheus. "Has she displeased you?"

The god sat forward with his arms resting on his knees. "Not yet," he said. "But she will. She will bring great terror to the land."

"How do you know this?" asked Prometheus.

Hephaestus hissed. "How dare you question the gods, boy," he said.

Prometheus nearly looked up in outrage, but suppressed the urge. "I meant no offense, my lord. I only wonder in the interest of the girl. Pandora, I mean. I know her not to be a burden to anyone. Too curious at times, but no harm to anyone."

"And with that, you have struck the truth," said the god. "The girl is curious. Far too curious for her own good, nor for the good of humanity as a whole. It could bode ill even for the gods."

"Surely not!" said Prometheus.

"Oh yes," said the god. "It has been foretold by the Fates. They have seen it."

Prometheus breathed in and out, trying to slow his heart. "What must I do?"

Hephaestus leaned over. "You may look up, mortal." Prometheus tentatively raised his head. "This is called fire." He indicated the bright warmth coming from the wood. "The gods alone can make it, and the gods are the only ones with the knowledge and secret of fire." He looked at Prometheus very seriously.

"Pandora must never speak of this fire again, nor must she ever return to this spot."

Prometheus nodded. "I...I understand," he said.

Hephaestus cocked his head to the side. "Do you indeed, mortal?" He poked a finger the size of a tree branch in Prometheus' chest. "Then you understand that no matter what you do, what has been foretold will come to pass?"

Prometheus frowned. "But why would you tell me this, if not to prevent it from happening?"

The god sighed. "It is very dull being a god, you know. We're immortal, you see. Nobody but our own ilk to be around for all eternity. We get to know each other too well, if you know what I mean." He grinned. "So we made humans to play with. To have fun with." He grimaced. "It's too bad that we gave you free will. And then Zeus had to go and screw everything up by granting you curiosity. All humans of course, but the worst one is Pandora!"

"And this...this curiosity, you say it will be the doom of us all?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "Who can say? The Fates predicted that she would bring a great terror to the land, and this would affect not only mortals, but the gods as well." He scratched his nose absently. "It's a very good thing that we think ahead, we gods. In case something happens to us, we look into human history and future to select worthy successors." He winked at Prometheus.

Prometheus was shocked. Was a god suggesting that he had been selected to succeed him?

"Yes," said Hephaestus, tapping his head. "Yes, I can read your thoughts, but I have also selected you to succeed me as Hephaestus."

Prometheus looked at the ground again. "I...this is an honor, my lord. I will not let you down."

Hephaestus nodded. "And since you will be my successor, you must learn a secret." He leaned in close, and as he did so, he shrunk down to the size of Prometheus. "I lied when I said the gods alone knew the secret of fire," he whispered. "I alone know the secret of fire, and the other gods are insanely jealous of that. I discovered it, and I keep it. Now I will teach it to you. But before I do," he said, holding up a finger. "You must swear never to reveal this knowledge to either humans or gods."

Prometheus looked up into the face of Hephaestus. A face that, presumably, he would wear one day. Or would he keep his own face, and be granted all the power of the god? He supposed it didn't particularly matter. What mattered was that he would finally be powerful. No longer overshadowed by his older brother, Epimetheus. No longer shunned by the women of the village, but craved.

Prometheus nodded. "I swear it."

Hephaestus smiled and patted Prometheus on the shoulder. "Well done," he said. "Now, if something does happen to me, you will be made the god Hephaestus, and you will have all of my knowledge and power. For now, though, I must teach you the secret of fire."

And for the next hour, Hephaestus trained Prometheus on how to create fire. Prometheus was thrilled. Here was the answer. This could save his people. And Hephaestus said he only needed to swear not to share the knowledge and secret of fire. He didn't have to swear not to share the fire itself.

Once he had learned everything, he stood up, holding a flaming branch. "Now I have made fire," he said.

The god nodded. "Indeed you have. You will be ready when the time comes," he said. "Now go. Take the wool from the sheep you sheared and keep your village warm. Leave the fire here to keep the sheep warm."

"What about you?" asked Prometheus.

Hephaestus smiled and began to grow again. "I must go back to Olympus. The gods get cold, too, and someone needs to stoke the fire." With a laugh, Hephaestus vanished.

Prometheus turned and set the branch back in the middle of the burning wood. It would burn itself out by morning, but the sheep would be kept warm enough during the daytime. He set about gathering up the wool to take back to Pandora.

Pandora! In the midst of learning he would be a god and learning the secret of fire, he had forgotten all about the prophecy of the Fates. Pandora would unleash some terror on the world. But what, and when?


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Two

Prometheus the Hero

Zeus poked Hephaestus. "Hey," he said. "Do you really think he's going to keep the fire to himself?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "He swore that he would. Why would he go against my will?"

Zeus laughed so loud that the tree line of Olympus moved ten feet farther down the mountain. "Do you know so little of mortals?" he asked, wiping a tiny bit of spittle from his mouth. "They don't understand our will any more than they understand their own. "Much less, in fact." He pointed down at Prometheus on the ground. He was carrying the wool back to the village. "I would be willing to bet a night with Aphrodite that he thinks he only swore to keep the secret of how to make fire to himself. He's going to try to save his village from the winter, and he knows the blankets won't do enough, no matter how many Pandora makes or how many chicken feathers that Epimetheus puts on them.

Hephaestus scratched his head. "So you think he's going to disobey me?"

Zeus tapped his nose. "Not knowingly, my friend," he said. "The point is, however, that he will disobey you. Ignorance, after all, is no excuse. How shall he be punished?"

Hephaestus scratched his beard, then slammed his fist in his open palm. "I'll have to choose another successor! But wait," he said. "The humans will still know of fire, and he will still know how to make it. He will be a god among men."

Zeus sighed. "And even gods may fall sometimes," he said. "The other humans will not only want the fire, but they will want the secret of how to make it. Even if he does not crack and share that knowledge, eventually, one of them will find out." He laughed again, causing the trees to take another step back. "And, oh, how we shall watch the puppets dance before us."

Hephaestus frowned. He had thought he had chosen well with Prometheus. But, he supposed, all humans were more or less alike. You could always count on them to fail the test put before them.

I awoke in the arms of Epimetheus. We had found a chicken, plucked it, eaten it, and used its feathers to coat the blanket the night previously. Now the blanket was covering us, and it having rained last night, was soaking wet.

I shivered. The movement made my husband stir. "Wow," he said. "I guess the chicken didn't work as well as we had hoped it would."

Prometheus chose that moment to stick his head inside the house. "I think our troubles are over," he said.

Epimetheus sat up. "What do you mean?" he asked. "The blanket is drenched, and we're freezing. It seems we're just as bad off as we were yesterday."

Prometheus shook his head. "Come to the village center," he said. "I have something to show you."

The look in his eye made me think that this could not be good, whatever it was. I peeled the blanket off of myself and stood up. I waited until Prometheus had left before I changed out of my wet clothes and into something dry.

My husband and I arrived in the village center a few minutes later, and there was already a crowd gathering. We forced our way up to the front, and there was Prometheus. Next to him was the bright warmth we had seen the sheep gathered around.

I glared at him. I had wanted to bring this back with us yesterday, and he said to leave it. I now saw that he only wanted to keep the credit for the discovery to himself.

"This is called fire," he said. "I found it yesterday when I was shearing sheep. They came to a spot that had this in it. Pandora was with me!" He gestured for me to come over to him. Reluctantly, I stepped to his side.

"It was left there by the god Hephaestus!" exclaimed Prometheus. "It is a sign from the gods that we are meant to survive!"

Sophia stepped forward. "But what does it do?" she asked. "How will it help us survive?"

Prometheus grinned at her. "This winter has been bitter, and far more cruel than ones we had in the past, has it not?" He waited for the murmurs to die down. "We have lost friends and brothers to its wrath. No more, I tell you!" He opened his arms wide. "Come close and feel the heat course through your body! But approach with care, and do not touch it. If you touch it, you will burn!"

"How is it done?" asked Sophia, stepping forward tentatively. "I mean, it is only wood, right?"

Prometheus shook his head. "That I do not know," he said. "It is one of the secrets of the gods."

Sophia gasped. "Will the gods not be angry with you for taking what belongs to them?"

Prometheus shook his head. "The fire is still where I left it. I had but to take a branch from a nearby tree, set it to the burning wood, and the fire sprung to the wood in my hand. I brought that branch here, and added more, and larger branches. The result is what you see before you!"

Sophia finally got close enough to the fire to do something. She gingerly held her hands out and we all waited with bated breath. After a moment, she turned around and shouted, "It's all right! I'm getting warm!"

There was a sudden rush towards the fire. Prometheus held up his hands. "Wait!" he shouted. "Not so fast. You may come in groups of five. We don't want to push too close now." He eyed everyone very seriously.

Slowly, everyone queued up together. Five people at a time, they went towards the fire, and warmed themselves. Then, glowing with happiness, they all turned around and thanked Prometheus for bringing them this gift. They then took their place back at the end of the line.

I stood in line with Epimetheus by my side. I heard muttering around me. Epimetheus echoed what they were all saying. "Why didn't you say anything about this?" he said, turning to me. "Don't you understand that this will be our salvation? This fire will keep us alive!"

I tried to shrink as small as possible. Everyone was now staring at me accusingly. There was no way I could make them understand that I had wanted to bring the fire back in the first place. It was Prometheus that had said to leave it behind. Now it was his word against mine, and since he had brought the fire to us, he was the one everyone would believe.

Epimetheus was the fifth in the group in front of us, so I waited my turn. The mutters were even louder now. It was as if people didn't want to speak against me when he was around.

It wasn't as though he was very intimidating, physically. He was simply a man that people didn't want to get on the wrong side of. If they knew he was questioning me too, the mutters would turn into spoken words, and then shouts. I had to stay as close to him as I could.

Once Epimetheus had finished warming himself and turned around, I gave him a small smile. He returned it, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it at the moment. Hopefully it had been convincing enough to shut the others up. Then it was my turn.

As I walked up to the fire, I noticed that there was nobody with me. The others were waiting behind me, and their eyes were narrowed. I looked at Prometheus for help.

He quickly stepped in. "Five at a time, please, that's it," he said. "Let's let everyone have their turn."

"But she already a turn!" a woman in the middle of the crowd shouted. To my horror, I noticed that it was Sophia that had spoken. She pushed towards the front. "You were with him when he first found the fire, weren't you?" she accused, pointing her finger in my face. "Don't bother denying it, he said so himself!" She jabbed her finger at Prometheus.

I backed away. "If it will please you," I said as calmly as I could, while trying to hold the tears in. "I will await my turn on the next round."

The shouts went up. "You just wanted the fire to yourself!" "Prometheus wanted to save us, but you kept it secret!"

I looked at Prometheus, and I could feel the tears already coming. He shook his head and lifted his hands. The crowd immediately hushed. "People, please!" he said. "She did not keep this secret out of selfishness or spite. She feared the danger of this fire. She wanted to keep you safe!"

I smiled. He was trying to help me after all. But the crowd, which was quickly becoming an angry mob, was having none of it.

"Safe? She wanted to keep the fire safe from us, while we froze to death!"

I looked around, and saw Epimetheus standing at the back of the crowd. He met my eyes, and turned his head away. I was alone, save for Prometheus, and even he could not convince the village of my innocence, after revealing that I had known about the fire before.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Three

The Box

Crushed, I ran away from the crowd all the way to my home. I fell on top of the blanket, not caring that it was still soaked from the previous night, nor that it smelled very much like urine. I just lay there and started to weep.

I heard a noise, and I looked up, hoping that Epimetheus had taken pity on me and followed me home.

Nobody was there, but someone had apparently tossed a jar into the house. It was a violent shade of orange, with purple patterns all over it. The lid, I could tell, was sealed on tight, due to it not having come off when it hit the ground.

The jar lay on its side, and, despite my current predicament, I crawled over to it. I picked it up and examined it. It was so beautiful, despite the very odd combination of colours. I wondered who it belonged to.

I stuck my head outside the door, but I saw nobody around. I looked all around the house, but to no avail.

I went back inside the house, and stepped lightly towards the jar, as if afraid my very footsteps would break it. I knelt down next to it and examined it.

The purple patterns were circular in nature, and they almost seemed to revolve around each other. I wondered what they could mean. Maybe they detailed what was inside the jar.

I reached towards the lid, still very surprised it had stayed shut. I tried to pry it off, but for some reason it stuck fast. It must have been jammed in to ensure that whatever was inside stayed inside.

I examined the jar further, in case there was something I had missed. Then I found what I had been looking for. On the bottom of the jar, in plain words, was the message. "Do Not Open"

I scoffed. Why would someone throw a jar that won't open to me with the instructions "Do Not Open?" As if I could open it anyway? In my frustration, I tossed the jar towards the wall. When it hit the floor, it rolled the rest of the way to the wall. Then, inexplicably, it turned itself upright.

I stood up fast. How could that possibly have just happened? I crept towards it. What was in there that made the jar stand up on its own?

I heard a noise from the door and I whirled around to confront it.

Epimetheus held up his hands. "Don't be scared," he said. "I just want to talk."

I sneered at him. "How can you want to talk now?" I asked. "You didn't seem to want to say anything in front of the village when they were ready to tear me apart!" There were definite tears rolling down my cheeks now. "What could you possibly have to say?"

He backed up against the opposite wall and sat down. "I just want to know why you thought to keep the secret," he said. "Not from the village, I don't care about that. But why did you keep the fire a secret from me? Your own husband?"

I opened my mouth to speak, and then closed it. The truth was, I didn't know why I had kept it a secret from him. It was almost as if I had forgotten all about it after I had left Prometheus with the sheep near the fire. Of course, that could never be a valid excuse. Who forgets about something that incredible? And blaming Prometheus for making me leave it there wouldn't do any good, since he was the one who brought it back.

"I... I don't know," I said. "I guess that I thought it would be too dangerous. We didn't know how it worked, or if we could get more of it when it burned out." I spoke quickly, trying to plead my case. "And what would happen to our homes if it got out of control?"

His brow furrowed. "Couldn't you have told me about it anyway?" he asked. "How do you know it would burn out? We could have gone to that spot whenever we needed to get warm."

I hung my head. "I didn't think about that," I said. "But we could tell that it was burning out. The wood was changing whenever the fire touched it, and would end up as a pile of ash on the ground."

"So the fire needs the wood?" asked Epimetheus. "Otherwise it can't burn?"

I nodded. "I think so," I said. "Once the fire had finished one piece of wood off, it didn't stay in that spot. I can only assume that if we went back to that spot today, there would be no fire, only a pile of ash where it and the wood was."

He lit up. "Maybe we can show people that," he said. "Prove that you weren't trying to save it for yourself!"

I grinned. This is the Epimetheus I had fallen in love with. He was using logic to try to help me. Then I thought back to the village center, and my eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't you try to defend me in front of the village?" I asked. "We could have sorted this all out then."

He didn't meet my eyes. "I...," he started, and then he stopped.

"Answer me!" I cried.

"I... I didn't know what to think," he said. "I was confused, and wrong for not believing you." He looked up at me. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

I pretended to think for a moment and let him suffer. "I don't know," I said. "I mean, you really hurt me when you didn't say anything out there."

"I really am sorry!" he said.

I laughed. "Of course I forgive you," I said. "Come on!" I went over to grab his hand and pull him up.

He stood up, and then stopped all of a sudden. "What is that?" he asked, looking over to where I had been when he came in.

I looked over too follow his gaze. He was looking at the jar on the ground.

"I don't know," I said. "It just flew in through the window. I don't know who it belongs to. It just says "Do Not Open." But it can't be opened anyway. The lid is sealed shut."

"Hm," he said. "These are some interesting colours and patterns." He shrugged. "Oh well," he said. "Let's go." He took my hand and together we went back toward the town center.

When we arrived, Prometheus had left. The crowd was still gathered closely. As we approached, they turned around.

"What did you do?" cried Sophia, rushing us. She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. "It's gone! What did you do?"

I shook her off. "What do you mean, it's gone?" I asked. "What's gone?"

She pointed toward where the fire had been, and the crowd parted. "The fire is gone, as you know well!" she cried.

And she was right. The fire had died down, and the wood that made it up was now a pile of ash.

I sighed. I should have known this would happen. It had happened faster than I had expected, though. "How could I have done this?" I asked her, shaking her off. "I was at home."

"I don't know how you did it, but you did," she said, spitting the words out. "You were angry that we found you out, and decided to make us pay for it."

The crowd was quickly becoming an angry mob again, and more violent. Several people started throwing stones at me.

Before I knew it, Epimetheus was standing with Sophia, and I knew. They had been having an affair. That was why he hadn't defended me before. Doing so would have meant going against her. And now he was standing on her side.

Tears were coming down my face afresh, and I knew that I had to escape. I started running away, cursing my husband and best friend for going behind my back. I cursed Prometheus for finding the fire and turning my life into this hell. I cursed the gods themselves for placing me here.

When I reached the house, I grabbed Epimetheus' knife that lay nearby and went to the jar. I fit the tip of the blade in between the lid and the body, and wedged it in there. A good whack with the club drove the blade inside, and popped open the lid.

In an instant, I was blown backwards. A huge rush of wind, and some maniacal laughter, and I knew no more.

Hera smacked Zeus over the head. "Why did you have to go and do that?" she said. "Throw her the box, _and_ speed up the fire? You ensured that she'd be thrown out of the village!"

Zeus laughed. The tree line was now so far down the mountainside it seemed that the mountain had simply grown that much. It turned out, of course, that it was exactly what had happened.

"I was only speeding the process along," he said. "It was going to happen eventually, so I figured that I would just get it out of the way!" He scratched his nose idly. "Besides," he continued. "Don't you just love the angry mob scenes?"

Hera huffed and crossed her arms. "I just don't think she's cut out to be a villain," she said. "None of this is her fault, after all."

Zeus was paying no attention to her. "And of course I had to put the "Do Not Open" inscription on the jar," he was saying. "That way, her curiosity was sure to get the better of her!"

Hera turned up her nose, and walked away. She didn't know what she would do with Zeus if he kept playing his little tricks on the mortals.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Four

Exile

When I came to, I was lying in a clutch of hills. Looking around, I realized it was the same clutch that the sheep had led Prometheus and I to. The remnants of the fire were still there, and the sheep were nowhere to be seen, aside from their dung.

"Awake, then, are you?" a voice said behind me.

I whirled around. Standing there was a man dressed in exceptionally odd clothing. He had a very trim beard and mustache.

I stood up and backed away slowly. "Who are you?" I asked. "What happened? Why am I here?"

He held up a hand to stop me. "Calm down, child," he said. "One question at a time." He put his hand down and smiled at me. "As for who I am, I suppose you can call me the Master."

I raised an eyebrow. "Master?" I asked curiously. "Master Who? What are you the master of, exactly?"

He looked at the ground, still smiling. "That is the question, isn't it?" he said quietly. "For brevity's sake, let's just say everything." He looked up, and there was a sad, pained look in his eyes. "I am the Master of everything except myself, and these never ending noises in my head."

"What noises?" I asked.

"Drums," he said. "I of course know what they are, and why they were placed in my head, but the knowledge of it does not make the drumming stop."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "Why yes, my dear," he said. "You are ever so kind. But first, I suppose we must address your other questions."

He seemed to be fairly genuine, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I sat down. "So what happened?" I asked. "I was in my house, and I opened the jar. Then I blacked out."

He smiled. "And for that I must thank you ever so much," he said. "For opening the jar. You see, I have been locked and trapped inside that jar for a time which I can not account for. Time does not seem to pass inside it, but millennia can go by outside."

I was confused. "What do you mean?" I asked. "That jar was so small. How could you fit inside it?"

He laughed. "I suppose that it is difficult for you to understand," he said. "Suffice it to say that the jar itself is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"How is that possible?" I asked.

He wagged a finger. "Tut tut," he said. "You are ever so curious about things that are far beyond your comprehension." He folded his hands behind his back, and continued. "As to how you got here, well, the force of my liberation knocked you out, and I carried you here. It seemed that you were not so welcome back in your... ahem... community."

I looked at the ground. So everyone was still angry with me. I could not go back there again. "Thank you," I said, looking up into his eyes, which were a hard gray. "What about the jar?"

"The jar itself I decided to leave in your former home," he said. "It can not be destroyed, or I would do so. I do not want to give my enemies the chance to put me back inside. It will be safe and out of the way there, and far away from me."

"Who put you inside there?" I asked.

He sighed. "My people," he said. "They feared me, and wrongfully so. Much like your own people fear you, it would seem. I imagine that if they knew the power that the jar contained, they would not hesitate to trap you inside of it."

I shifted forward onto my knees. "Then you were wrongfully accused as well?"

He nodded. "I was trying to save entire worlds," he said. "But they saw it as an act of opposition, and imprisoned me."

I barely registered the last few statements, and would not have understood them if I had tried. I was just happy to find someone who understood me.

"So what can I do for you?" I asked. Maybe this Master, whoever he was, would take care of me if I helped him.

He smiled at me. "My enemies took away everything from me. But worst of all, they removed hope from my life!" The smile faded away from his face, and he looked at me seriously. "Will you help me rekindle that hope?"

I was so moved by his words, I found myself nodding before considering the notion. "Yes," I said. "I will help you. What must I do?"

"Thank you ever so much," he said. "What you must do will all come in time. For now, let us leave this place. Your village, I daresay, will be looking for you soon, and they will not be very forgiving."

I nodded, and without looking back, I left the clutch of hills with the Master, leaving my village and the life that I knew behind.

For a while, I tried asking him a bit more about his life, his enemies, and why they may have been so afraid of him. He dodged and deflected each question with the skill of a master debater. Eventually fed up with my questions, he took to asking me about my own life.

"So what drove your own village to turn against you like that?" he asked.

I sighed. Maybe if I gave him information, he would respond in kind. So I told him the whole story. About how the winter had come much earlier than expected this year, and I was expected to make blankets for everyone. I told him about Epimetheus and how he couldn't find a duck. I told him about Prometheus and the sheep that led us to the fire.

The bit about the fire caught his interest. "Burning wood, you say?" he said. "So it happens now."

I wondered what he meant by that, but I put it out of my mind and continued the story. When I reached the part about Prometheus having the fire in the middle of the village, he stopped me.

"So the fools thought that you were trying to keep it to yourself, when really Prometheus was the one that said to leave it behind in the first place," he said.

I nodded vigorously. "Yes," I said. "But I couldn't tell anyone that, because they would think I'd be lying to save myself."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that's true. But not to worry," he said, smiling at me. "Prometheus will have his place in history, as will you. Continue, please." And he kept walking.

I sighed. This was becoming very tedious, though I felt a little better for being able to get the story out.

I finally got to the part where the villagers were chasing me back home after the fire had burnt out, and the Master stopped me again.

"So Prometheus was not even there when the fire had burnt itself out?" he asked. "How convenient that was. And that is when you opened the jar, when you got home, yes?"

I nodded. "I don't even know why I decided to open it. I suppose I was just feeling reckless abandon, and I wanted to break a rule."

The Master smiled at me. "And I must thank you again for that," he said. "So you have no idea who threw the jar in through the window?"

I shook my head. "I looked out the window, and I went outside to walk around the house, but there was nobody there."

The Master scratched his chin. "Curious," he said. "And you're sure that nobody in your village had the jar in their possession?"

I shrugged. "I had never seen it before. I don't think anyone would have taste like that."

We had been walking for some time before we reached the foothills of a mountain. I looked up, and the mountain towered high above us.

"This..." I started. "This is Olympus!" I looked at the Master. "It is the home of the gods! What are we doing here?"

He turned to smile at me. "Why, this is the beginning of our journey together, Pandora." He set off up the mountain. Reluctantly, I followed him. His smile was beginning to unsettle me.

Zeus was picking at a spot on his chin when Hera arrived in the throne with Athena in tow. He looked up with a very bored expression.

"What is it now?" he said. "It's too late to change things. Events are now in motion."

Athena strode up to him boldly and slapped Zeus hard in the face. "You're damn right events are now in motion!" she said furiously. "Your little tricks have now caused an avalanche that will end up with our entire world in jeopardy!"

Zeus flicked a piece of dry skin at her. "You need to lighten up, daughter of mine," he said. "We will just be replaced. We have already chosen our heirs. I had to reach across the galaxy and through millennia to find mine!" He said this last as though it was her fault. "Your chosen one is only a few thousand years in the future, and on this very planet!"

Athena huffed. "I'm not talking about Olympus, Zeus. I'm not just talking about the legacy of the gods here. The entire universe is now at stake because she let him out!"

Zeus shrugged. "Why should we care?" he said. "We're immortal, and when we're gone, we're history. It doesn't matter what happens after that, because it's not happening to us."

Hera's eyes widened. "I can't believe you could be so callous," she said, her nostrils flaring. "You helped create this universe, didn't you?"

Zeus laughed. The trees were now too far down to hear it. "Why do you think that I helped create the universe? I mean, I may have had a small hand in some small things, but I am not the end all, be all."

Hera and Athena spat at his feet, one right after the other.

"Hey!" said Zeus, pulling them up. "You're going to mess up my pedicure!"

Hera turned to walk away, disgusted. Athena looked at Zeus with sadness in her eyes.

"Father," she said, sighing. "I just hope that your successor is a better fit for the role of Zeus than you are." And she turned to follow Hera.

Zeus sat back in his throne to sulk. To Hades with the both of them, he thought.

Pandora and the Master had been climbing for what seemed like hours. Pandora was exhausted, but the Master seemed very limber for his age. And Pandora had a hunch that this Master was a lot older than he appeared.

"Can we take a rest, please?" she asked. "My legs are too tired to move much farther, and I'm ever so thirsty."

The Master rolled his eyes. "Do you see any bodies of water around here?" he asked snidely. "Any water that is on this mountain is going to up near the top, where the gods live. They would not allow something as precious as cool, clean water to be sullied by sliding down the side of a mountain." He pointed upwards. "And the only way that we are going to be able to taste that cool, clean water is to keep climbing up this mountain."

I tripped over a rock at this point, and stumbled forward. My knee got banged up, and I skinned my hands when I reached out to stop my fall.

The Master let out an exasperated sigh. "And I suppose now you want to rest to tend to your wounds, is that it?"

I looked up at him, and if I had the ability to kill with a glare, the Master would have been dead right then.

He made a face. "Oh, don't look at me like that," he said. When I stood up, and moved over to sit on a small boulder, he sighed. "Fine," he said. "We'll take a break." He moved to a boulder a short ways away.

That was fine. I didn't really want to speak to him very much at the moment anyway. I took the time to look at my knee and hands. The knee was slightly scuffed and dirty, but overall it was okay. My hands were bleeding a little from being scratched. I sighed and ripped the very bottom of my clothes into two separate strips, and wrapped one strip around each of my hands.

The Master looked over at me and nodded. He actually looked a little impressed at how I could take care of myself.

A few minutes later, I stood up, feeling a little bit better. "Okay, let's go."

The Master twitched. "I'm just glad that you didn't say that in French."

I raised an eyebrow. "First of all, what is French?" I asked. "And secondly, why?"

He rolled his eyes, clearly thinking that I was primitive again. "French is a language that won't be created for a few thousand years. And my greatest adversary likes to say 'Let's go' all the time, in that language."

At this point, I was completely lost, but I decided to let it go. "Well, come on," I said, and I began the journey farther up the mountainside. He stayed close behind, but not too close. I was glad for that. He still made me very uneasy.

At one point, the path became too steep to walk up regularly, so we had to climb our way to the next flat spot.

"Do you feel like this mountain has grown while we've been climbing?" I asked, looking up. The peak of the mountain seemed to be as far away as it had been when we were in the foothills.

"That's just an illusion," said the Master. "Dimensions are being stretched due to our perception. The peak looks farther away because we're so close to the mountain itself."

I shook my head. He was babbling about nonsense again, and doing it in such a condescending manner. It was so maddening!

An unfathomable amount of time passed before either of us spoke again. The climbing had gotten his odd clothing very dirty, and I don't doubt that he was feeling very grumpy about it.

As we continued to climb, the peak still appeared the same distance away, although I knew we were moving up the mountainside because the tree line was getting closer. Occasionally we would have to use the trunks and branches of trees to propel ourselves ever higher and get to the next spot where we could rest.

It wasn't much longer before the Master himself paused in a group of branches that had grown like a cradle out away from the trunk. He did not speak, but he sat down and leaned against the branches. He was asleep in moments. I pulled myself past him, and finally settled myself in a soft grassy patch a little ways up the slope.

Now that I had slowed down, I really felt how cold it was getting. I had thought the winter was brittle in our village, but it was nearly unbearable being up on the mountain. There was no blocking the wind that slammed against the mountainside, and I even found myself longing for one of my wool blankets. I almost wished that Prometheus was here so he could make the fire for us to stay warm by. Then I remembered that it was he that got me into this mess in the first place and I cursed him again.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Five

An Audience with Gods

I woke to find myself covered in a piece of the Master's clothing. It didn't do the best job in keeping me warm, but at the very least it was a nice gesture.

I looked over at him, and he was still nestled in the crook of the tree. He looked fairly comfortable and almost peaceful.

I stood up and stretched. The grass had been soft enough, but somehow my back had found a rock to rest on. I felt around in the grass to find it, but couldn't. Maybe it had been under the ground.

The Master must have heard me moving around, because he sat up. "Are we ready to move forward then?" he asked. He looked up toward the peak of the mountain. "The peak appears to be closer than it was yesterday by a significant amount." I looked up with him, and saw that he was right. We were at the tree line, and the peak was only a short way away.

"Good," I said. "I am more than ready to get a drink of water."

"Don't hold your breath," he said. "There is no guarantee that they will let you drink."

My jaw dropped. "So what did we come all the way up here for?" I asked.

The Master smiled, and I noticed more than ever how sinister it had become. "All will be revealed in due time," he said.

I scowled, and waited for him to descend from the tree. I was surprised when instead, he walked nimbly along a bough towards the mountain and leaped straight from the branch to the ground on the same level.

He saw me staring at him and smirked. "Impressed, are you?" he asked, and he held out his hand. "I'll have my jacket back, thank you."

I shrugged off the piece of clothing he had lent me as a blanket, assuming that was what he was referring to. I handed the jacket over to him, sneering. I was surprised that my tone was softer than I expected it to be when I spoke. "Thank you for letting me use it," I said.

He scoffed. "Do not make that out like I allowed you to use it," he said, and snatched the jacket from my hand. "I felt you take it off of me in the middle of the night."

I couldn't believe him. How could he think that I would do that? I don't think I could have even climbed up to him in the tree if I had tried. I had the feeling that he wouldn't care whether I was telling the truth or not. I just knew that I did not want to get on the wrong side of the Master. Maybe whoever his enemies were, they were right to have imprisoned inside the jar that was bigger on the inside.

We moved farther up the mountain. I wanted to put as much distance as possible between myself and the Master. I hoped that when we got to Olympus itself, the gods would be able to take care of him for me.

I heard the Master muttering to himself somewhere behind me. I think I heard something like, "get them out of me."

"What's that you're saying?" I called back to him.

"So many questions, my dear Pandora," he said. "One must not be too curious. It could get you into trouble one day."

I shivered, but I couldn't help but shoot back at him. "Secrets do not make friends," I said.

In a flash, he was by my side and grabbing my arm. "You will not be warned again," he said. "Do not cross me."

I swallowed, but glared him down. After a few tense moments, he let me go. I backed away from him and continued upwards. He followed me more closely now.

After what seemed like ages, we both climbed over the final boulder and were greeted by a sight I had never seen before.

It was someone sitting at a small structure that appeared to be made of wood. It was a man that was clothed in the same kind of garments that the Master was wearing.

"How may I direct you?" he asked in a bored voice. Then he looked up and saw us. "Oh, dear," he said, now clearly terrified. He cleared his throat, and spoke in a shaky voice. "I shall return to retrieve you in a moment," he said. A pair of bowls appeared on the wooden structure. "Feel free to quench your thirst as much as you like, as I am sure you are both parched after your trek." With that, he started to fly. In a moment, I realized how. There were wings on his feet. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but the Master looked unimpressed.

At that moment, I didn't care. I went straight to the bowl and looked inside and saw that it was clear. I put my finger in it and felt that it was cold. I put my finger in my mouth and tasted that it was water. The Master had not been lying about that at least. I picked up the bowl and drank deeply. The Master himself picked up his own bowl and sipped it primly.

I savored the water, and the bowl never seemed to empty, so I drank it at my leisure. It tasted a lot sweeter than the water back home.

"Well, don't stand on ceremony," said the Master sarcastically. "Please, do drink up."

I didn't respond. There was no way I was going to talk to him any more until I found out what was going on and what his game was.

It wasn't long until the winged footed man came fluttering back. "I trust that you are both refreshed," he said. "You are expected before Zeus."

I swallowed hard. "You don't mean Zeus, the king of the gods, do you?" I asked timidly.

The man bowed. "The very same," he said. "You may call me Hermes."

The Master snorted, and Hermes turned to look at him. "You're Hermes?" asked the Master, chortling. "The messenger of the gods is a desk jockey?"

I had no idea what a desk jockey was, but I could tell it was meant to be very insulting, because Hermes bristled.

"Be careful, Master," I warned. "He may be what you say, but he is still a god, and therefore more powerful than you can imagine."

The Master's lip curled. "My imagination is beyond the bounds of your own, my dear Pandora, of that I can assure you," he said, and gestured disdainfully at Hermes. "This one is not worth our time or respect."

Hermes looked incredibly offended, but he did not respond to the slight against him. "If you will follow me please," he said curtly. He walked normally, with the wings folded up along his legs. The Master followed him, and I lagged behind. I was still terrified of what Hermes might do, though he looked calm at the moment.

We had only walked a little ways before Hermes stopped and turned to us. "The sensation you are about to feel will be a little unusual," he said. "The important thing is not to stop, but to continue through it." He turned and walked forward a few steps and promptly disappeared from view.

I jumped back in surprise. The Master rolled his eyes at me.

"Foolish girl," he said. "It's only a cloaking field." He walked forward and disappeared right behind Hermes. After a few seconds his head reappeared, and I let out a small shriek. He sighed, exasperated. "If this frightens you, you might as well turn around, climb back down the mountain, and return to your village," he said. He grinned wickedly. "But they are not so pleased with you, are they?" With that, he pulled his head back to wherever the rest of him had disappeared to.

Of course I was afraid, but I most certainly was not about to let him aware of that fact. I steeled myself and walked forward.

Hermes was right about one thing for sure: The sensation of walking through it was definitely unusual. It was as though I was stepping through one of Zeus' thunderbolts. My hair stood on end and away from my head. It lasted only a few moments, and then I was through. I smoothed my hair back down and shook myself to make sure I was still all in one piece. I looked back at the barrier I had come through, but could see nothing but open sky. When I looked around again, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like nothing I had ever seen, and put every other incredible thing I had seen in the past two days to shame.

It was a whole city. The buildings were huge and made of polished marble. Each one had magnificent details. The one closest to us on our left had massive columns with shiny owls sculpted all over them. The building on our right had fish and many other sea creatures sculpted into the columns.

I stepped closer to the building dedicated to the sea and ran my hands over the stone work. It was exquisitely made. I turned to look at Hermes.

"Are these the temples of the gods?" I asked. I put my hand on the one I was at. "Poseidon." I looked over at the other building. "And that one is Athena's?"

Hermes laughed, though it was still shaky. "Don't be silly," he said. "Athena's temple is in Athens, and Poseidon has his in Atlantis. These are their homes, and they put those hovels you mortals call temples to shame." He chortled a little more, but then seemed to realize that we were still needed somewhere. "Come along now," he said. "There may be time for the seeing of sights later." He shrugged. "Then again, there may not. You must be seen and judged by Zeus before anything else can be decided."

I swallowed. I had nearly forgotten about our meeting with Zeus. I obediently fell back in our makeshift line. Hermes nodded and kept going.

I could see our eventual destination at the end of the road ahead of us. It was a gargantuan palace. The Master sighed. "Leave it to Zeus to erect such a tribute to his own compensation," he said.

Despite myself, I snorted. For all his flaws, the Master could be funny. Hermes shot us both a look. We walked the rest of the way in silence.

When we reached the steps leading up to the palace, Hermes turned to us and bowed. "I leave you both here," he said. "You will proceed one at a time up to the audience chamber. Once there, the almighty Zeus will speak with you. I must advise you to speak only when spoken to. The consequences, should you choose not to follow that advice, will not be pleasant, I can assure you."

The Master smiled smugly. "I'm sure that you know that from experience," he said, looking down his nose at Hermes. "Messenger boy."

Enraged, Hermes started at the Master, but thought better of it. The Master laughed coldly. "Good boy," he said.

Hermes stared at the Master icily for a moment, and then turned to me. "Zeus will attend to you first, Pandora," he said.

I bowed to him. "Thank you for your kindness and for your advice, your Grace," I said.

Graciously, he bowed back. Then, he unfurled his wings and flew off.

I looked to the Master, surprised that he had not objected to my going first to see Zeus. He waved me on. "Go on, child," he said. "It is better that you see him first, and you must not keep him waiting. After all," he said in a mocking tone. "He is a god." He gave me one last smile that sent shivers down my body, and then turned away to sit on the lowest step.

I turned and looked up to the palace. The Master was right. I should definitely not keep Zeus, King of the gods, waiting. I headed up the stairs.

When I reached the top, I saw a very large doorway that reached as high as the roof above. Near the bottom of the door, though still several lengths high, was an odd opening. A limp, yet hard piece of material hung from it. Seeing no other way inside, or any way to open the door, I pushed against the material. It gave way, and I pushed my way past it to step inside Zeus' palace.

"Come forward," said a voice.

I wasn't about to disobey and go back now, so I boldly stepped forward. It was still a long way forward to get to the back of the chamber, where a large throne sat. Nobody was in the throne, however.

"I apologize for the doggie door," said the voice. "Hades asked me to install it. He likes taking Cerberus for walks, and for some reason he insists on calling that three headed dog 'Fluffy'. And of course, sometimes those walks lead inside here." This last bit was said derisively. "Every time he comes by with that mangy mutt I have to make the demigods work overtime. Ganymede enjoys it though. He'd lick the stuff off of my boots if I asked him to. Heck, he licks my boots even when I don't ask him to."

As confused as I was about all the voice was saying, and even about who was saying it, I held to Hermes' advice and kept my mouth closed. There was no point in getting a thunderbolt thrown at me for no reason before I even got to say anything.

"Hold on," said the voice. "I'll be out in a moment." A moment passed, and from behind the throne stepped a dog. It was very large, and had only one head itself. It bounded up the steps to the throne, and leapt up into its seat. The dog circled around a bit, as though chasing its tail, or finding the perfect position to lie down in. Finally, satisfied with its position, it faced me.

And at once, I knew who it was, and the moment I realized it, the dog transformed. In its place was what looked like a young man, though I knew he was very old indeed.

"I have to be honest," said Zeus, for that of course is who the young man was. "Sometimes I like using the doggie door myself. I like it especially when I feel like butting my head against things."

I had bowed my head and knelt to the ground by this point, and I remained there now. He still had not asked me to speak. From what I had heard, what Zeus liked most of all was to hear himself talk.

"So Pandora," he said. "It seems that you have gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble."

I nodded, still not daring to speak.

"Why did you not defend yourself when your friend accused you of conspiring to keep the fire to yourself?" he asked.

"Sophia is no friend of mine," I spat out without thinking. I covered my mouth quickly, shocked at my own boldness. "I am sorry for my tone, Your Majesty. Forgive me."

Zeus, however, did not seem fazed by my outburst. "No, you are quite right about that," he said. "Sophia was not a friend to you, despite all you did for her. She will get her comeuppance soon enough, along with your husband." He looked at my shocked face. "Does this displease you?" he asked. "They did wrong you, did they not?"

I nodded warily. "They did," I said. "She took him as her lover right out from under my nose!"

Zeus smiled and inclined his head. "Then they shall be punished."

"If I may be so bold as to ask Your Majesty," I said timidly. "What are you going to do with them?" I asked.

He regarded me carefully for a moment. "That is none of your concern any longer, my dear Pandora," he said. "Now, has there been anyone else that has wronged you that brought you to me?"

I thought for a moment, and landed on the Master, then shook my head. He would be dealt with soon, I was sure. Then the answer came to me.

"You speak of Prometheus!" I said. "He was the one that I found the fire with, and he was the one that told everyone that I was there. That was when everyone got out of control," I finished lamely.

Zeus nodded. "I know of Prometheus' slight against you, and that has not been his only transgression. He also broke an oath to a god. No, not an oath to me," he said, seeing my expression. "Hephaestus made him swear that he would not share the knowledge of fire with anyone. Now, despite your friend's interpretation that he could not teach anyone else how to make the fire, he was swearing not to let anyone else see the fire."

My jaw dropped. So Prometheus had gone against not only me, but also the gods. But something was puzzling me.

"Why would Hephaestus share the secret of how to make fire with Prometheus in the first place?" I asked.

Zeus sighed. "What I am about to tell you must never leave this room," he said. "If word of this gets out, there will be no end to the chaos that will consume the Earth."

I nodded. "I swear not to repeat any of what you are about to tell me to anyone in any way."

Zeus nodded, satisfied with my vow. "We gods are immortal, yes, but not infinite, and we can be killed. In the event that such a thing happens, each of us must choose a successor. We must select a mortal to take our place and our name."

My eyes widened. "So you have chosen someone to be the next Zeus, you mean?"

He nodded. "And Hermes has a successor, and Poseidon has one, and Athena has one. It was actually Athena that came up with this little idea in the first place." He smiled. "My own daughter, the wisest of us all," he said proudly, gazing off to where I now Athena's palace was located. He looked back at me. "Hephaestus had chosen his heir in Prometheus," he said. "And when the pair of you discovered the fire, Hephaestus decided that it was time to reveal himself."

I nodded. "I think I understand, Your Majesty," I said. "So what will happen to Prometheus now, since he disobeyed Hephaestus and broke his vow?"

Zeus chuckled. "Well, he has lost his chance to be a god," he said. "That was Hephaestus' own punishment for your friend. But I have come up with something a little more fitting."

"What is it?" I asked, suddenly fearful.

Zeus smiled. "Prometheus wanted to be remembered for fire, yes?" he said rhetorically. "And so he shall be remembered in fire. Very soon, Prometheus, and your husband, and your friend Sophia will all move to Pompeii."

I was taken aback. "But, Your Majesty," I said. "Pompeii is so beautiful. Why would moving them there be a punishment?"

He folded his hands and peered at me closely. "Do you know of the mountain that overlooks Pompeii?"

I nodded. "The mountain is Vesuvius, of course."

Zeus inclined his head. "Let us simply say that Vesuvius is waking from a long slumber very soon."

I did not know what that might mean. I stood up, hoping that Zeus might tell me why he was so eager to see me.

"Now," he said. "I bet you are wondering why I am so eager to see you."

I nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

He stood up. "I'll get right to it then," he said. He pulled something out of a fold in his clothes and pushed a circular indent on it. Instantly, the wall was lit up as though the sun were shining on it alone. An image was on it, and unfortunately, I knew exactly what it was.

"Does this look familiar to you?" he asked, pointing at the image of the orange and violet jar that had been thrown through my window.

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty," I said.

He crossed his arms. "And where have you seen this before?" he asked.

I took a deep breath in. "This was thrown in my window at my house just yesterday," I said. "Or at least, I think it was yesterday."

"It was actually four days ago," he said. "Did you read the inscription on the bottom of this jar?"

I nodded. "It said 'Do Not Open'," I said.

"And did you heed that warning?" he asked, descending the steps of his throne.

I shook my head. "No, Your Majesty," I said. I had no excuse other than a fit of recklessness and overwhelming curiosity.

He nodded. "That is correct," he said. "You did not heed the warning that I expressly put on the bottom of the jar for you specifically to read." He sighed. "Despite what everyone in your village now thinks of you, you are no liar." He pushed the circular indent again, and the light and the image faded from the wall. "It was me, of course, who tossed that jar into your home, Pandora," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I was about to break down into tears. "I apologize, Your Majesty," I said. "I am so sorry for disobeying you."

He smiled and squeezed gently. "You have no need to apologize, child. It was my doing. You were always going to open that jar. It was I who gave it to you, and it was I that gave your curiosity to you as well."

"Your Majesty?" I asked, confused.

"Do not fret, Pandora," he said. "All will be all right in the end. Now, let's get you near the fire that Hephaestus set up for you, so you can get warm."

He led me away from the throne room and out a side door to a small courtyard. A thin, very tan man was sitting next to a fire that was much larger than the one Prometheus had built up back in our village.

"Hello, Pandora," he said. "I am Hephaestus. Come now, have a seat and warm yourself."

I bowed to him, and graciously accepted his invitation. I held my hands out towards the fire and rubbed them together. I finally started to feel them again. I had not realized how numb they had become while in Zeus' chamber.

Hephaestus shook his head. "That is just like Zeus," he said. "He is always all business, without caring one lick about his guest's comfort. May I offer you a blanket?" he asked, holding one up for me to see.

Despite myself, I laughed at it. "It's so thin, though," I said. "And it's not even wool. How can it keep me warm?"

Hephaestus grinned at me. "Do not doubt the gods, child," he said. Without another word, he draped the blanket over my shoulders.

In an instant, I was warm again like it was the middle of summer. Suddenly, my eyes felt very heavy, and I leaned over onto Hephaestus' shoulder. He did not seem to mind.

"Rest now," he said. "You will receive food and drink when you awaken, then we shall see what your friend the Master has to say to Zeus."


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Six

The Master's Pride (and Sloth, and Envy, and Gluttony, and Wrath, and Lust)

When I awoke, the fire had not died down at all. I was impressed, but after all, I was in the home of the gods, and they were sure to have servants to stoke the fires, if the fires died down at all.

I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Hephaestus was nowhere to be seen, but I saw several other people crowded around the fire. Perhaps even gods got cold. But then, I wasn't sure these were gods. I didn't get the same feeling that I got from Zeus or Hephaestus or even Hermes. These seemed to be ordinary people.

One of them noticed that I was awake and rushed over to me. "May I take you to get some food and drink?" he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he pulled me to my feet and ushered me through another door. "I am Ganymede," he said. "Zeus has informed me that you are to be taken care of."

So this was Ganymede, I thought to myself. Zeus had mentioned him the day before, and that he was helpful to a fault. I didn't mind too much, even if he did seem a bit too eager.

"Thank you, Ganymede," I said. "My name is Pandora."

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, Miss," he said. "We are all aware of who you are, and you mean a great deal to us."

I frowned. I was not that special, was I? Of course, Zeus had thrown the jar to me, and had apparently even intended for me to open it, but what did that make me? Did it make me an accomplice? Did it make me a jail breaker for the Master? I was more confused than I had been yet on my journey.

Ganymede must not have taken any notice of my confusion, for he ushered me quickly into a small sitting room and sat me at a raised platform. This one was much like the one Hermes had been seated at, only it was all polished marble. He went out of the room through yet another door, and was back in just a minute with a tray full of food and a bowl of a fruity smelling drink.

"Breakfast and wine for you, Miss Pandora," he said. "Eat up, for you have an eventful day ahead of you."

"What am I to do today?" I asked, taking a sip of the fruity drink, which turned out to be a delicious wine.

"Zeus has requested that you observe and oversee his meeting with this Master character," Ganymede said. He shuddered. "I do not know about you, but I do not approve of him one bit."

"Why is that?" I asked, biting into a crisp piece of something I couldn't identify, but smelled delicious.

He hesitated. "He doesn't give off a very good smell," he said. "Everyone has a certain scent, and good people give off good smells, and bad people give off bad ones." He smiled at me. "Some of my fellow demigods here do not approve of you because you opened the jar, but you smell good to me."

I smiled back at him. Ganymede was certainly an odd one, but he seemed genuine enough. "What is this?" I said, holding up the pink food I had just taken a bite of. "It's delicious!"

Ganymede smiled. "That is called bacon. It comes from pigs and fried over a fire much like the one that warmed you during the night. I quite like it myself, and I am glad that you do as well."

I grinned and finished off the piece of bacon. I realized I had not eaten in several days, and not at all on the journey up the mountain. I then did not care about what anything looked or tasted like, nor even what it was. I just began shoveling everything into my mouth.

"Oh, do slow down," said Ganymede worriedly. "I understand you must be famished, but I do not want for you to choke."

I slowed down, but still polished off the tray in not very much time. I then drank the rest of the wine. It made me a bit light-headed, but it tasted like fresh grapes, and I was never one to turn down fresh grapes.

Ganymede was still smiling at me when I finished, and swept the tray and bowl away. In a flash, he was back. He took my arm and ushered me through the door we had come through, and then up through a series of stairwells. My legs were still burning from the previous days' treks up the mountain, but I welcomed the pain. It was proof that I was still alive.

We eventually came to a flat level, and walked over to the edge of the platform. There was a raised edge, which I was thankful for, because I certainly did not want to fall off. I looked over the edge and could see inside of Zeus' throne room.

Ganymede was watching me intently. "Zeus wishes for you to oversee his meeting from here," he said. "It is a safe distance, and this edge keeps us from getting injured if things go... amiss."

"What does he expect to happen when the Master arrives?" I asked. "Could he not wipe the Master out with a thought and a thunderbolt?"

Ganymede held a finger to his mouth, as though afraid to reveal too much information. "It's, uh, not quite as simple as all that," he said. "When you welcome a guest into your home, it is customary to not attack them, as they are under your care."

"But what if the Master attacks him first?" I asked. "Would Zeus be able to contain him?"

Ganymede shrugged. "I suppose it depends on how powerful this Master is," he said. "There was a reason he was imprisoned in that jar of yours. I for one do not want to find out why."

I turned and looked down into the throne room. Zeus was sitting in his throne already, and he looked much more on edge than he had when I was there. As I watched, he transformed into an older man, with a big white beard. He also grew, and fortunately, the throne grew with him, or it would have been crushed. He soon filled the room from floor to ceiling standing up.

"I'm glad I am the Master right now," I said. "I would be running away as fast as I could back down the mountain."

"It is for intimidation only," said Ganymede. "Zeus does not intend to use his full power, and this is but a shadow of what he can really do."

I grabbed Ganymede's arm suddenly as I watched the Master come in to the throne room. He was clearly very irritated.

"How dare you," he was saying. "How dare you make me wait while a mortal is pampered and coddled! And there is a no reason to play dumb with me. I saw the smoke from the fire, and I smelled the bacon this morning."

Zeus stared at him stonily.

"Don't give me that look," said the Master. "You know as well as I do that there is no mistaking the smell of bacon. And you don't cook bacon unless there is someone very special that is going to eat it." When Zeus did not say anything, the Master grew irate. "Well, don't just sit there trying to intimidate me, oh great King of the Gods. Better men than you have tried that and failed. Say something!"

Zeus' hand seemed to crackle to life. But then I realized it was not his hand, but something that was appearing in it.

"Now Zeus is summoning a lightning bolt," whispered Ganymede. "He is flexing his muscles to try to make the Master stand down."

I looked at Ganymede, worried. "Do you think it will work?" I asked. "The Master does not seem the kind of man to be intimidated so easily."

Ganymede sighed deeply. "I am not sure," he said. "Zeus is incredibly powerful, but even he knows that he is not the most powerful being in the universe." Seeing my confused expression, he continued. "Surely, you don't think that this little place that you grew up in is the only place that matters? There is so much more out there, my dear Pandora. I do hope that you live to see it."

I swallowed and looked back towards Zeus. The lightning bolt, I saw had extended from his hand now, and was almost as large as he was.

The Master himself feigned a yawn. "I'm not impressed by you," he said to Zeus. "It doesn't matter how big you make that bolt of lightning, the only thing it proves is how good you are at compensating for your incredible weakness."  
Gasping, Ganymede pulled me down behind the edge of the balcony. "That was a very big mistake," he said. "Zeus is never fond of someone questioning his power, and with the Master doing so in such a bold and disrespectful fashion, I do not doubt that we will see him throw that lightning bolt soon."

I peered warily over the side. The lightning bolt was definitely crackling more violently than before, but Zeus stayed stoically in his same position. He still was not saying anything.

"Hermes told us not to speak to Zeus unless spoken to," I said. "Zeus has not said a word yet, and the Master is here insulting him. Either the Master himself has a death wish, or he knows that Zeus can not actually do anything to harm him."

Ganymede nodded. "Normally, Zeus would throw the bolt immediately when someone speaks before him. I don't understand what is going on right now, but I do not like it at all. Perhaps we would be safer somewhere else." He took my arm to lead me away quietly.

I pulled back against him. "Zeus wanted me here to see this," I said. "And I for one do not intend to disobey him. Do you?"

Ganymede looked down at Zeus wielding the giant lightning bolt nervously and swallowed. "No, I suppose I do not."

"You can posture all you want," said the Master to Zeus. "But you know just as well as I do that you are just a scared little boy. This world has existed for a blip in comparison to the time that I have seen. You are nothing to me."

Zeus himself finally stirred. He began to shrink, although the lightning bolt in his hand stayed the same size. I would have questioned how he could continue to hold something so large while he became the size of a normal human before our eyes, but I knew that he was still just as powerful.

"Thank you for making me feel welcome," said the Master mockingly. "I am ever so pleased that you are able to accommodate me."

Zeus stood up and descended the steps of his throne towards the Master. He pointed his weapon at his adversary as he neared him. The Master did not budge, even as the bolt of lightning hovered above his shoulder.

Zeus soon stood toe to toe with the Master and spoke quietly, though his voice still filled the chamber. "Tell me what you want," he said. "And then be off with you."

The Master laughed. "You think you can threaten me, or dismiss me?" he asked.

Zeus, to my surprise, shook his head. "No," he said. "But I wish you to be gone from my presence, and to trouble us no more." I noticed the lightning bolt was slowly getting smaller to match Zeus' current size.

The Master stepped back away from Zeus and raised his arms to the side. "If only that were possible," he said. "But there is something I need from you. From you and several others of you supposed gods."

Zeus frowned. "What is it that you need from us?"

The Master smiled. "I need you to make me immortal," he said.

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly do you expect me to do that? And why would I? You seem to be immortal already."

The Master looked at the ground for a moment, and a shudder seemed to go through him. "My people took my immortality away from me. I want it back, but I can not get it in the same way as I had it before."

Zeus drew himself up to stand straight. "And what is it that I can do to make you immortal?"

The Master stepped forward again, and put his hand on Zeus' shoulder. The lightning bolt disappeared altogether. "I need you to make me pure."

Zeus cocked his head. "What exactly do you mean when you say pure?" he asked.

The Master shrugged. "I need to be rid of all emotions. They weigh me down, and they are the downfall of all sentient beings. Only those without emotions can truly be immortal."

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "You mentioned that you need me and others of my kin. Who do you need and why?"

"Why, you are to be the incarnations of my own failings. My deadly sins, if you will. You, for instance, will be my Pride."

"Ah," said Zeus, seeming to understand. "And I assume you intend to put the other six inside my fellows?"

The Master inclined his head. "Hera shall be my Envy, Aphrodite shall be my Lust, Ares shall be my Wrath, Dionysus shall be my Gluttony, Poseidon shall be my Sloth, and Athena shall be my Greed."

Zeus let out a bark of laughter. "You think my beloved daughter will submit to you?" he asked. "She is not so easily cowed as I am, and she is much more clever than you give her credit for." His eyes narrowed. "And what makes you think she is so well suited to be your Greed?"

"Have you seen that castle of a library that she calls home?" the Master said. "She has a never ceasing greed for knowledge."

Zeus sighed. "And why should we submit to this?" he asked.

The Master raised a hand. "Not to worry," he said. "I am only giving you the sins that you already so perfectly represent. You will take in more of what makes you the person that you are, and at the same time make me more pure. It is a win - win after all, wouldn't you say?"

Zeus considered. While I saw that the bolt of lightning had completely disappeared, I could still hear a definite crackling coming from his hand. As Ganymede and I watched and listened, even the crackling faded.

"When we do this," said Zeus. "You'll leave this mountain alone?"

The Master nodded. "I will never come back here again," he said. "I cross my hearts."

Zeus nodded, satisfied. He extended his hand to the Master, and they shook.

As we watched, we noticed something happening. It looked as though Zeus was kneeling. No, he wasn't kneeling. He was actually being drained of energy, but something was being drawn from the Master into Zeus as well. Minutes passed with their hands still clutched together.

Finally, Zeus stood back up, but there was something different about him. He moved with a feeling of superiority and smugness.

"You are now Pride," said the Master. "And you will summon your fellow gods to be transformed."

Zeus turned without a word in reply, but went out of the throne room to the outside. In the meantime, the Master moved towards the throne.

"That won't work," said Ganymede. "Only Zeus or his heir may sit in Zeus' throne. Anyone else would be vaporized instantly if they tried."

I watched as the Master stopped at the lowest step, looking at the throne. He then looked away, apparently not interested in it.

"He doesn't need a throne," I whispered. "He has no more Pride in him, so he doesn't feel the need to sit in a throne."

A few minutes later, Zeus returned with six other gods that I could only assume were Hera, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Poseidon, and Athena.

"What is this all about?" asked Hera. "Why have you allowed him," she said, indicating the Master, "access to our home?"

Zeus said nothing. The Master spoke up, however. "He invited me, dear Hera," he said. "I know he doesn't invite you in very much anymore, does he? Too many mortals for him to play around with, aren't there?" Hera narrowed her eyes and started toward the Master, but he held up his hand, stopping her. "Feeling a little jealous, are you?" he asked. "Are you feeling a bit too much... envy?" He then stepped forward quickly and grabbed her by the hand. In a few moments, Hera was standing just as still as Zeus was.

I gasped. "That was a lot quicker," I muttered to Ganymede.

He nodded. "Hera is not quite as powerful as Zeus," he said. "Hera's will must have been easier for him to break."

As one, the other gods had started after the Master, but he held up both hands. "Now, now," he said. "Do you really want to touch me after what I just showed you?" They backed away slowly. "That's better now. We can take turns." He looked at Hera, who was still standing next to him. "You are now Envy," he said. "And you will covet everything that other people have. Oh, yes, that's right," he said, laughing softly. "You have already been doing that." He looked at Zeus, who was now Pride. "Though don't worry, she won't nag you anymore like she used to. Now if you would please instruct your... ahem, family, to line up in an orderly fashion so they can be made pure as well."

Zeus turned to the other gods and glared at them down an upturned nose. As he was the king, they did not disobey.

All of them obeyed except for one. Athena had not moved when the Master had taken Hera, and she did not move now while her kin were getting in line. The Master regarded her with narrowed eyes.

"Perhaps I should have made you my Pride," he said. "Remarkable, how you continue to look down on me when I have you cornered and beaten."

She sneered. "You will not take me," she said scathingly.

The Master nodded. "Very well," he said. "Pride, would you be so kind?"

In a flash, Pride crackled a lightning bolt to life in his hand and launched it at Athena. She was ash before I could even dare to move. Ganymede had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming.

The Master looked at the pile of ash with a hint of regret. "Now that is a pity," he said. "Now we shall have to find a new Greed."

Pride did not waste any time. "HADES!" he called.

The other gods were quelled by the display of power, and obediently accepted their transformations. I was questionable about the warrior god, Ares, but like a good soldier, he fell in line.

Once Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, and Sloth were standing in line next to Pride and Envy, the Master stomped his foot. "Where is Hades?" he asked impatiently. He pointed at the god who had once been Poseidon. "Go and find your brother!"

Sloth sighed. "It's so hard to get to the underworld though," he said slowly. "And so much work." Still, he slowly made his way out of the throne room and presumably to find a way to the Underworld.

I looked over at Ganymede. "We should leave," I said.

He nodded. "I know a way out that's a shortcut to the Underworld," he said. "Come on."

I froze. "Wait, the Underworld?" I asked, flabbergasted. "Why do we need to go there?"

Ganymede grabbed my hand. "Sloth is going to find Hades so the Master can turn him into Greed," he said. "We have to get there first."

I pulled back on his hand. "But you have to be dead to get to the Underworld, don't you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not when you're with a god," he replied, smiling. "I'll keep you safe."

"How will you keep her safe?" said a voice. I turned around, and the Master was standing right behind us. "You're only a demigod yourself, and even Athena could not stop me from having her killed."

I didn't think any more. I grabbed Ganymede's hand and turned to run away.

"Run all you like, Pandora!" the Master called after me. "It will only make things worse for you in the end. And even if I am not able to get to Hades, he will never let you leave the Underworld alive."


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Seven

Flight through the Underworld

I'm not entirely sure how Ganymede and I escaped Zeus' palace. We were twisting and turning so many times, that I completely lost track of where we were and where we had been.

Eventually, we made it to the outside. We came out a door that I hadn't seen before, to the side of the gargantuan main door.

There was nothing different that I could see about the outer part of Olympus. There was a different feel to it though. It was as if Olympus itself knew that the whole dynamic had changed.

"What now?" I said to Ganymede. "How do we get to the Underworld from here?"

He pointed towards Athena's palace, and we rushed over.

He closed the door behind us and we ran amongst rows and rows of books. There were books that I was sure had not been written yet, and there were books that looked incredibly old.

Ganymede was counting each row as we passed it, and when we came to the twenty third, he turned down it and I followed close behind. There was a book that was sitting on a shelf all by itself near the middle of the row.

"What is all that space for?" I asked.

Ganymede smiled, and hoisted himself up onto the shelf and laid himself longwise in it. He did this all without touching the book. He looked at me. "Do as I do," he said, and he turned the book on its side.

Instantly, the shelf tilted towards of the back of the bookshelf, and then righted itself again. Ganymede was nowhere to be seen, and the book he had turned over was standing up again.

I heard the door to Athena's palace open, and I knew there was no time to lose. I climbed up the shelves and positioned myself just as Ganymede had. The only problem was that I realized too late that I had gotten in turned away from the book. There was no time to turn myself around, as there were many footsteps getting closer to my position. All I could do was kick the book over and hope for the best.

I held back a scream as the shelf tilted inward and I started sliding into total darkness.

I'm not sure how long I slid for. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours.

In the end, I spilled out into a dimly lit chamber. Ganymede was there waiting for me.

"How long is that chute?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Nobody knows," he said. "I know that the Underworld is several miles inside the ground, and that's from the level of your village. So probably around five miles straight down, but that's not counting all of the twists and turns."

I looked around, and was disgusted to see that the lights were coming from fiery sticks that were shoved inside of skulls on the wall. "So we're in the Underworld now?" I asked.

He nodded, and to my disgust picked up one of the fiery sticks out of a skull and led me to the exit of the chamber. It was another book shelf, but this one just turned the whole shelf to the other side, rather than spitting you down a tube.

"Here, take this torch," he said, handing me the fiery stick. He picked up another torch on the other side and we walked forward.

On the other side of the shelf I could see a green glow coming from the chamber beyond. "What's in there that's making that green glow?" I asked nervously.

"That would be the river Styx," he said. "Unfortunately, I do not have a way to pay the toll to get across, so we will have to find some other method to get to the other side."

"Can't we ask him to take us across?" I asked, pointing.

Ganymede followed my gaze and saw the ferryman. "Ah, no," he said. "That's the ferryman that takes the toll. You would need to be dead, I think, to actually cross, so the toll for you would be your soul." He sighed. "And the only way I can get across is to get special permission from Zeus or Hades, and since Zeus is currently not Zeus, and Hades is on the other side, I can't go by ferry either."

I frowned. "How will we get across then?" I asked. "It's too far to jump across, and I don't see anything that we could climb over to get across."

He put a finger to his lips suddenly. "Hush now," he said. "Listen."

And as I listened, I could hear voices and footsteps. "They're coming from the other side!" I whispered.

Sure enough, I saw two beings come into view on the other side as they exited a tunnel. One was hovering, and I realized with relief that it was Hermes.

Ganymede and I looked at each other, and I knew we had the same thought at the same moment. "We could ask Hermes to carry us across!" Ganymede whispered.

I smiled, very glad that I had been respectful to the messenger god.

"That's Hades, by the way," said Ganymede. "If he comes across as well, we might be able to talk him into helping us, and we wouldn't have to use Hermes."

As they got closer, we heard bits and pieces of what Hermes and god of the Underworld were saying.

"So you're not worried about what this Master person will do?" Hermes was asking.

Hades scoffed. "What can he do?" he asked. "He can't cross this river without either my or Zeus' permission, and he's certainly not going to get my big brother's permission to get across here."

Hermes looked nervous. "I just got a really bad feeling off of this guy, Hades," he said. "You should get ready in case he comes."

Hades rolled his eyes. "You worry too much, Hermes," he said. "Fly on back up to Olympus and tell Zeus that I will have things under control down here."

Hermes sighed. "I just don't want anything to happen that's out of our control," he said. He hesitated before he spoke again. "If... if something does get out of control, do you have your successor chosen?"

Hades glared at him. "You know very well that we are all required to choose an heir when we first arrived on the scene," he said. "I saw no point in it then, and I see no point in it now."

Hermes was taken aback. "So you don't have one picked?"

Hades laughed. "I'm Lord of the Underworld!" he said, patting Hermes on the shoulder. "If something happens to me, I'm down here already."

Hermes sighed. "You should really reconsider," he said. "None of us know exactly what happens to us when we go. When regular humans go, they end up here. But we don't know about gods." He shrugged. "Who does?"

They had reached the river by now. "Hermes, if you are really that worried about the Master," said Hades, and he hesitated. "Just take care of my brothers."

Ganymede and I shared a glance. "He is not going to be happy when he finds out what happened to his brothers," I whispered.

Hermes fluttered up into the air. "I'll do that, Hades," he said. "I will let you know once things have calmed down."

Hades nodded and turned away. Hermes flew over to our side of the river. I stood up and waved my arms to get his attention, making sure to only be in his view.

Ganymede grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. "What are you doing?" he asked. "You'll be seen!"

I shrugged him off. "That is kind of the point, Ganymede," I said sardonically. "How else will we get him to carry us across to Hades?"

The demigod looked frustrated with me, but he agreed. I stood up again and waved at Hermes. The god spotted me, and was smart enough to know that I wasn't trying to attract too much attention to myself.

"Hello, Miss Pandora," he said, bowing to me. "What exactly brings you here to the Underworld?" He eyed Ganymede suspiciously. "Did this one lure you here?"

I bowed respectfully to him, and shook my head. "No, your Grace," I said. "We need to talk to Hades, immediately!"

Hermes was taken aback by this. "Why do you need to speak with him?" he asked. "I have already informed him that the Master is on Olympus. I came right after I left you at Zeus' palace."

"Of course!" I said. "You don't know yet!"

"What do I not know?" Hermes asked, his eyes narrowed.

Ganymede stepped in and bowed. "If I may, your Grace," he said. "The Master has taken over Olympus and the major gods."

Hermes almost burst into laughter at that statement. "You must be pulling my leg," he said. "There is no way that little being could take over Olympus that quickly."

"You were afraid of him," I said boldly. "What set you off about him that made you think he was more powerful than you, a god?"

Hermes shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know what you mean," he said stiffly. "I fear only Zeus."

Ganymede swallowed. "Be afraid, then," he said. "Be very afraid."

Hermes scowled. "What are you talking about, you fool?"

I threw caution to the wind and grabbed Hermes by the shoulders. "The Master overpowered Zeus. He's controlling the king of the gods. He's controlling half a dozen others as well. And he means to convert Hades too."

Hermes was still not getting it. "What do you mean, convert?" he asked. "How could Zeus be controlled by the Master?"

"I don't know," I said. "But the Master spoke to him, and Zeus tried to intimidate him, but it didn't work. Eventually Zeus broke, and they shook hands, and it did something to Zeus."

Hermes looked suddenly fearful. "What did it do?"

Ganymede spoke up. "The touch drained Zeus of himself, and put something from the Master inside of him. The Master said it was Pride."

"And this was done to the others as well?" asked Hermes.

I nodded. "All except for Athena," I said. "She refused to be changed, and the Master had Zeus, I mean Pride, kill her."

Hermes, who had still been hovering above the ground, fell out of the sky at these words. "No," he said. "Athena is the wisest of us all. If she is gone, we do not stand a chance." He was speaking more to himself at this point, and then he turned back to us. "Who else was taken?"

I looked to Ganymede, who counted off on his fingers. "Zeus was turned into Pride, Hera was turned into Envy, Aphrodite is now Lust, Dionysus is Gluttony, and Poseidon is Sloth."

"Athena was to be turned into Greed," I added helpfully. "And the Master sent Poseidon, I mean Sloth, down to the Underworld to get Hades, so he could be Greed."

Hermes smiled. "Poseidon could never convince his brother to do anything, even when he was in his right mind." He thought for a moment. "Though, come to think of it, I'm not sure if Poseidon ever was in his right mind. The sea does funny things to a person, or a god, if they are out there for too long."

I sighed. "We don't really have time for this," I said. "We need to tell Hades what happened."

"Yes, yes," said Hermes. "You're quite right." He held out his hands, and both Ganymede and I took one each. "Do hold on tight," said Hermes. "I can carry both of you across the river quite easily, but this is no ordinary river. You must not slip, or you will never return to the land of the living." His wings opened, and I felt, for the first time, what it was like to fly.

I knew that he had not been lying when I looked into the river as we flew over it. The green glow seemed more sickly than ever, and it was shining from the water itself. As I peered closer, it looked less and less like water, and more and more like people in liquid form.

"They are souls that have passed on," said Ganymede. "They will drag you down if they can. Do not touch them."

I had never had any intention of touching them, but this gave me an extra reason to clutch Hermes' hand tight with both of mine. I was thankful when we landed on the other side.

"Will we get in trouble with Hades if he finds out we crossed the river without paying the toll and without permission?"

Hermes shook his head. "This is a special case," he said. "We will need him more than you realize." He looked at the ground. "And he will need us more than he realizes." He looked back at the pair of us. "Come." We set off at a trot towards the tunnel entrance, with Hermes flapping alongside us.

Then I remembered something Zeus had said when I had first arrived in his palace. "Um, Hermes?" I asked, breathing hard.

"Yes?" he said.

"Doesn't Hades have a guard dog?" I asked.

His eyes widened. "Son of a bitch," he said. "Stay alert," he advised us.

Ganymede was a little ahead by the time we reached the tunnel, and when we came out on the other side, he was the first one to come to a screeching halt.

In front of him was Cerberus, the proverbial son of a bitch. Or was it three bitches, since this dog had three heads? I wasn't sure.

The dog was growling at Ganymede, surely having smelled us all coming through the tunnel. I was surprised he hadn't been waiting at the river. The drool from one of the heads landed right next to Ganymede.

Looking at the three headed dog, I really appreciated why the doggie door that Zeus had put in had to be so large. This dog was massive.

Ganymede looked over his shoulder at me. "Cerberus has never been particularly fond of me," he said. "I always try to avoid him whenever Hades takes him for walks around Olympus."

I nodded, too frightened to speak. Hermes, however, landed with his wings folded up on his legs and stepped forward.

"Who's a good boy?" he said in a voice as though speaking to a baby. "Who's a good boy? You are! You are, Fluffy!"

At the name given by Hades, the dog's tongues lolled out of its respective mouths and the tail gave the ground a vigorous pounding.

Hermes smiled and flapped up to sit on the middle of Fluffy's heads, and was able to scratch behind the ears of the two on the sides. "The trick," he said, "is to let him know that you're not afraid of him. All dogs, you see, can smell fear, and it is especially true of dogs with three heads."

I laughed, and Ganymede turned to look at me. "Maybe that's why he doesn't like you," I said to him. "You avoid him as much as you can, so he knows you're afraid of him."

The demigod looked affronted. "I'm not afraid of him," he said curtly. "I just don't like to associate myself with smelly animals."

The middle head, which did not have the lovely distraction of being scratched behind the ears, growled at this comment. This made Ganymede jump in shock.

I laughed again, and stepped forward to scratch underneath the dog's chin. His tongue lolled out again and he licked me a little bit. His tongue tickled, and I giggled.

"What is all this, Hermes?" a voice said, and Cerberus turned around to greet his owner. "I thought you were leaving… oh," he said, noticing Ganymede and I. "To what do I owe the displeasure of a demigod and a mortal?" He sniffed a little and made a show out of pinching his nose. "Shall I make that a living mortal?" he said, making a face. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Please, Your Excellency," I said, being as respectful as I could. "I arrived in Olympus with the Master because I mistakenly set him free of his jar. I have witnessed his power and have to come to warn you and aid you in any way that I can."

He sniffed again and scratched his nose. "Hermes has already told me all about the Master, and I see no reason to fear him. A mortal will not be able to convince me when a god could not."

"Then perhaps a demigod!" said Ganymede boldly. Cerberus growled, but he ignored the dog. "I witnessed what happened as well, and you will not brush it aside as idly as you think you will."

Hades sighed. "Very well, come with me," he said. "Stay, Fluffy." He led us to a small antechamber where he had a round table set up. Ganymede looked at the table questioningly.

"Everyone's equal when you're dead," said Hades as an explanation. "That idea of equality is going to pick up big in a few millennia. Hopefully we're all around to see it. Sorry," he said as an afterthought to me. "No offense."

"None taken, Your Excellency," I said.

Hades invited us all to have a seat. For the next half hour, Ganymede and I told him everything we knew about what the Master had done. He kept interrupting us and questioning everything twice or three times. Through it all, he was not the Hades that I had ever expected him to be. He was charming and clever.

When we told him that Sloth was on the way, he stood up quickly. "How long ago?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, looking at Ganymede. "Was it a few hours?"

Hades looked around at each of us. "My brother always did take a lot of time to get here. He gets lost sometimes. Still, we have no time to waste."

At that moment, we heard a monstrous barking, and we all turned to look. Fluffy was straining at his chain and was letting off a never ending stream of barks, yips, and yowls. I chuckled. Sometimes having three heads was handy.

Hades looked back at us, and there was worry in his eyes. "Fluffy smells something different, and he doesn't like it at all. I assume that it is my new and improved little brother." He went over to the entrance and looked out towards the tunnel.

"Hades!" called a slow voice over the sound of Fluffy's barks..

"That's him, all right," I whispered.

Hades shot me a look that made me shut up. He then waved us all forward and pointed away from the tunnel opening. I scanned the wall where he was directing us and saw where he wanted us to go. For some reason, that opening filled me with terror.

"No," I said. "I am absolutely not going in there."

"It is not up for discussion, Pandora," he said. "Now go!" Ganymede grabbed my hand, and together we ran to the place that filled me with so much dread. I wasn't even sure why.

The barking stopped. I chanced a glance behind us, and saw that all three of Fluffy's heads were yawning, and the giant dog had laid down. In seconds, we heard snoring that could shake the earth around us and wake the dead. I shuddered when I thought of how close the dead actually were.

Hades stopped. "Okay, that does it," he said. "That dog does not get tired. Poseidon!" he roared, storming towards the tunnel. "What have you done with my dog?"

I stopped to watch, but Ganymede tugged at my arm. "Come on, we have to go!" he urged.

"No," I said. "We have to help him!"

Hermes grabbed me at my waste and hoisted me over his shoulder. "Trust me, my dear," he said. "There is nothing we can do for him now. Fluffy is the one thing that keeps Hades in good spirits down here. No pun intended," he added. "But, you can imagine how depressing it can get around here when you just have dead people to talk to."

I twisted around in Hermes' grip to see what was happening. I saw Sloth standing next to Fluffy and slowly petting him. Hades was kneeling next to the dog and appeared to be leaning on him for support. Sloth looked our way, but must have decided that it was too much work to chase after us. He bent over to throw Hades over his shoulder and turned away.

I turned back around with dread growing in my stomach. What were we going to do now?

"Don't look down now!" called Hermes.

We had passed through the opening, and there was the sickly green glow again, but it felt like it reached inside me.

I couldn't help it. I looked down again. At the same time that I looked down, I wished that I hadn't. The green glow itself made me feel sick. Seeing what was making it made me feel like death itself.

There were thousands of the liquid souls below us, and we were flying towards the very center of it, although we kept going up.

As I peered closer, I thought I could see people that I recognized. My mother and father were somewhere in there, I realized. With a rush of fresh horror, I saw my older brother, who had frozen to death during the winter two years ago.

I clutched myself to Hermes as tight as I could, and shut my eyes. I could still see my brother's face behind my eyes though. The image had been burned into my mind. Other faces joined his. There were my mother and father. For a moment, I thought I saw Epimetheus and Sophia, and then they were gone.

"Please get us out of here, Hermes," I begged.

Without me noticing, Hermes had grabbed Ganymede's hand and was hauling him upward as well. I strained my neck to see what we were flying towards, and saw a small outcropping of rock above us.

Hermes let me down on it, and led us into the cave that the ledge was hiding. "This is a way out of the Underworld that Hades told me about before," he explained. "Since he can't fly, he would need me to get him out this way, if something happened and he needed to flee." He chuckled. "Also, I take Persephone in and out this way all the time."

"Is now really the time?" asked Ganymede.

"Sorry," said Hermes. "I'm just trying to lift your spirits. Pun intended."

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, let's just get out of here," I said. "Where does this come out?"

Hermes sighed. "Unfortunately, it comes out at the stables of Olympus," he said."

Ganymede almost laughed. "Why is that unfortunate?" he asked. "We could take three horses and ride away."

Hermes gave him a look as though he were crazy. "Do you understand that Olympus has been taken over?" he asked. "That would include the stables. And they are sure to put all of the horses to good use. If not, they are at the very least keeping watch on the stables."

"Okay," I said. "So what is the plan once we get there?"

He shrugged. "I had not thought that far ahead," he said. He looked very disappointed. "I had not expected to lose most of my family in one fell swoop like I just did. It kind of takes some getting used to."

I hadn't thought of that. I remembered losing my parents, and my brother. Their images came back into my mind, glowing green and sickly. I pushed the thought away. I could not allow myself to be distracted by them right now. Mourning could come later.

I decided to tell him so. "What is this?" I asked Hermes. "Is this grief? Your family is still alive! You know that they are still in there somewhere! There must be a way to make the Master give them back, right?"

Hermes shook his head. "Their life force is gone, Pandora," he said. "Whatever was a part of them has now been replaced by those sins."

"So you're just giving up?" I asked. I looked back at Ganymede, who had stayed silent throughout the whole conversation. "What about you, demigod?" I demanded. "Why do you not say anything? They were your family too. Can't you think of anything that would help?"

Ganymede met my eyes, and there was nothing but defeat in them. He could not look at me for very long, for his gaze cast down to the ground within seconds.

I growled in frustration. "What about the other demigods?" I asked him. "What about the other gods, Hermes? Where are Artemis, and Apollo? Can they not be of some help? Where is Hephaestus?"

Hermes shook his head. "They all answer to Zeus," he said. "I wish things were different, but there is nothing we can do about the fact that Zeus is no more. They will answer to that shell that we know is Pride."

I looked down at the ground. There had to be something that we had missed. There must be some factor that the Master had overlooked.

Then it came to me. I looked up, excited, and grabbed Hermes by the shoulder.

"What about the successors?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What successors?"

I rolled my eyes. "You know exactly what I mean," I said. "Zeus told me about them, and I heard you talking to Hades about them. The gods all chose a successor in case something happened to them. If Zeus and the others are now just shells, then they're basically dead, right?" He nodded slowly, and I could see comprehension dawning in his eyes. "Then wouldn't their successor officially become them? There is a brand new Zeus, and a brand new Hera, and Ares, and Aphrodite, and Athena, and Dionysus, and Poseidon somewhere on Earth. Maybe there's a Hades too. There is hope!"


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Eight

The Record of Heirs

Hermes held up a hand. "Slow down, Pandora," he said. "It's not as simple as going to find the successors. There is a process that needs to be followed. Plus," he said, and he hesitated.

"Plus what?" I asked.

He sighed. "The gods don't just choose people from the current time period. They look into the future and find someone that they think best represents what they stand for as a god. Their personality soul mate, if you will. I, for instance, have selected Mark Zuckerburg to be my successor."

"Who is Mark Zuckerburg?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Facebook is going to be huge though."

I shook it off. "So when a god is killed or whatever, how does the successor know that they need to come here to take over?"

"Well, that's really my job," he said, scratching his head awkwardly. "I go to collect the successors if something happens." He let out a sort of grunt. "I really didn't expect to be getting seven or eight of them at once."

"So what happens if you're the one that's killed?" I asked. "Who gets Mark Zuckerburg?"

"I..." he stopped and laughed. "I'm not actually sure!"

"Was there a Hermes before you?" I asked.

He shrugged. "There may have been," he said. "As far as I know, the successor knows nothing about previous incarnations of the god or goddess they become. It could be that there have been hundreds of us. Although I'm not sure what the point of being immortal is if you can die just as easily as a mortal. It's like getting a new car every two years. Why?"

Hermes was babbling about nonsense again, so I grabbed his shoulder again to get his attention. "Never mind that," I said. "Who do we need to get first?"

Hermes thought for a moment, but Ganymede supplied the answer.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" he said. "We need to find the new Zeus."

"Great!" I said. "How do we do that?"

Hermes stepped in. "There is a record kept in Athena's library of the chosen successor for each god, and where in time and space they are located. We need to get into that library."

"How far are the Olympus stables from the library?" I asked.

Ganymede sighed. "It's on the other side of the mountain," he said. "We would have to avoid detection by anything."

"Could you fly us over?" I asked Hermes.

He shook his head. "Not fast enough to avoid being seen, especially with a mortal alongside. I could get to the library by myself, of course. I doubt that Sloth has arrived yet with Hades, so he would not be able to inform anyone that I have gone against the Master's will. You both could wait for me inside this tunnel."

"Okay," I said. "I don't like being split up for that long though."

Hermes shrugged. "It is the only way that we could go without avoiding detection."

"But what happens when we get that record?" I asked. "How do we go about actually retrieving each successor? It's not like we can actually travel through time to get them. Seeing into the future is one thing, but going to it and visiting it? That has to be impossible!"

Hermes jerked his head noncommittally. "I did say that it's my job to retrieve them, though admittedly nobody has told me exactly how to go about doing that. This sort of thing has never happened before."

I shook my head. "Never mind that," I said. "We can figure that part out later. We need to get the book first."

He nodded, and then held out a hand to hold us up. "We're nearing the exit," he said softly. We crept slowly forwards as Hermes felt along the wall with his hands. I was very glad that Ganymede had thought to hold on to his torch, because it would be as black as a night with no stars otherwise.

"Found it!" whispered Hermes in excitement. He pressed on the rock in front of him and it moved slightly.

I snorted. "Well, that was impressive," I said. "I suppose we go back now?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, and as I watched, the rock was definitely lowering into the ground. It was very slow going, but soon I could see light. I was so pleased to see it that I had forgotten how cold it was above ground. I immediately started shivering, and Ganymede handed the torch to me. I accepted it graciously and started to warm up.

Soon, the rock wall had lowered enough into the ground so I could see that it was nighttime. I was glad that I had the torch now so I could see where I was going.

Hermes saw things a little differently, unfortunately. "We need to put the torch out," he said. "We will be conspicuous enough as it is."

Reluctantly, I handed him the torch and he tossed back down the tunnel behind us. The light from it was soon gone, and so was the warmth.

"Come on," said Hermes, and we followed him outside. When I breathed in through my nose, I could tell he was right. There were definitely horses nearby, or had been very recently.

We snuck around a corner of the rock face and saw the stables. We did not see any guards from where we were, but that did not mean that there weren't guards around somewhere. Hermes signaled for the two of us to stay where we were, and he went around to the front of the stables. After a moment, we heard voices.

"Hey, Hermes, how are you?" said a brash male voice.

"Not bad, Apollo, and you?" said Hermes.

"I can't complain too much," said Apollo. "Although have you noticed something different about Aphrodite?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hermes, and we could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"It's like she's gotten even more beautiful," said Apollo. "Though don't tell Ares I said that, because he looks ready to kill at the drop of a helmet as it is!"

Hermes laughed along with Apollo. "What are you doing down here?" we heard Hermes ask.

"Just keeping an eye on the stables, like Zeus asked me to," said Apollo.

"But where are the horses?" asked Hermes. "Why guard the stables when the horses are all out?"

I pictured Apollo shrugging. "How should I know?" he said. "I just do what Zeus tells me to do. What are you doing here?" he asked in an accusing tone.

"Well," said Hermes. "I was... um." He trailed off.

Apollo laughed. "Oh, don't play dumb," he said. "I know exactly what you were doing."

"You do?" asked Hermes.

"Of course," said Apollo, and there was a definite eye roll in his voice. "Everyone knows about the situation with Hades and Persephone. However, I will say that not everyone knows about the secret passage to the Underworld that only you can access."

Relief flushed over me, and I could tell that Ganymede and Hermes felt it too. "Yes, you got me," said Hermes. "I am just back from bringing her back up here." His voice dropped. "I would like to get her out of the passage without attracting too much attention, though, if you know what I mean."

"Say no more," said Apollo. "I'll get out of your feathers. You do what you have to do. I need to go see Artemis anyway."

With that, we heard Apollo's parting footsteps, and Hermes came back to us. "Well, that got rid of him," he said. "And wait till you see what is in the stables!"

I was confused. "I thought you said all of the horses were gone?" I said questioningly. "What else could be in the stables but hay?"

Hermes grinned. "Come and see," he said. "It will solve our problem of getting to Athena's library quickly and without being noticed."

Sharing a curious look with Ganymede, I followed Hermes into the stable and looked around.

"But you said all of the horses were gone," I said, pointing to a stall at the end of the row. There was the outline of a horse's head and body clearly visible.

"They are," said Hermes. "That is no ordinary horse." He could not seem to stop grinning. "Go and see."

Reluctantly, I went down to the stall, and could still see nothing unusual about the horse.

"Open the stall and let him out," said Hermes, fluttering over.

I did as he told me, and the horse came out. Then I saw what Hermes had meant, and why he was so excited.

This horse was not an ordinary horse, in the same way that Hermes was not an ordinary god. It had wings. I turned to look at Hermes with glee covering my face.

"This is an actual Pegasus?" I said, excitement oozing from every pore in my body.

Hermes grinned. "He can fly much faster than I can, and he will be lost in the night sky," he said.

I saw what he meant. The Pegasus was jet black, with the most beautiful eyes of any creature I had ever seen. It eyed me with one of them, and I detected there a deep intelligence, beyond that of any normal horse.

I reached up to stroke the beast's head, and he leaned into my hand. He was so soft, I felt like I would melt.

"What is his name?" I asked Hermes.

"Storm," said the Pegasus. "At the very least, that is what Zeus calls me. Or rather, what he called me. This new creature may inhabit Zeus' body, but he is not Zeus."

By the time the Pegasus had finished speaking the first sentence, I had fallen over into a pile of straw. I was very thankful it was only straw, and not the other item commonly found in stables. I am immensely surprised that I didn't scream at the knowledge that an animal could talk. However, the knowledge shouldn't have alarmed me so much. I had seen so many fantastic things in such a short time that nothing should have surprised me anymore.

"Oh, so you're okay with a Pegasus, but not a Pegasus who can talk?" said the Pegasus. His voice was deep and rich, and definitely belonged to a being that was incredibly intelligent. "As I was saying," he said. "Storm is what Zeus called me, but I prefer to be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All. If you wish, you may simply call me Stormageddon."

I stood up slowly. "I do apologize," I said, trying not to stammer. "You startled me."

I swear that Stormageddon rolled his eyes. "No, don't worry about it," he said. "Not many mortals have laid eyes on me, and you are one of the few that have managed to not faint at hearing me speak. You lot have no imagination." His tail swished and swatted a fly that landed on his rump.

Hermes landed beside Stormageddon. "We need your help," he said. "You say you know that Zeus is no longer Zeus. How can you tell?"

The Pegasus gave Hermes a look that very clearly said, "Are you serious?" I didn't know that it was possible for a horse, or Pegasus, to have such human expressions. "You have merely to look at him to know that he is not the same as he once was. Zeus, the king of the gods, has always been a very proud person. However, he has now taken it out of hand. He is insisting that everyone refer to him as Zeus, king of the gods and master of creation." He snorted derisively.

"Well, thank the gods you are above taking presumptuous titles," I muttered.

A wing came forward and smacked me on the side of the head. "It is my name, not a title. Zeus gave me the full name, but his brother Poseidon was too lazy to say the whole thing and took to calling me Storm. Eventually, the name just stuck. Now," he said, turning back to Hermes. "You say that you need my help. What can I do for you?"

Hermes patted the great beast on the flank. "Can you bear the burden of this mortal and demigod to Athena's temple?" he asked.

"Of course," said Stormageddon, and he pulled himself up proudly. "I could do that in my sleep. But why can they simply not walk there? It is not far."

"It is not the distance that is the problem," said Hermes, and he looked at me.

"We know who is behind the changing of the gods," I said. "Zeus, and Hera, and the others. It is a being called the Master."

"Unfortunately, he knows that we know," said Ganymede. He has seen us, and so have the gods that are no longer gods. Hermes here is the only one not suspected of going against their will."

Stormageddon looked at Hermes. "Is this true?"

The messenger god nodded. "Every word. And now we need to get to Athena's library to find the record of heirs. So we can put the people the gods chose as their successors in their rightful place as new gods."

Stormageddon bucked. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he said, and looked at Ganymede and me. "Get on!"

Ganymede helped me up, and then he climbed up behind me. We stood looking at Hermes. "Now what?" I asked.

"Now you fly out of the stable and up as high as you're comfortable going," he said. "Against the blackness of the sky, nobody will be able to see you. Then you must meet me inside Athena's palace. There is a courtyard on the inside, you can land in there and go into the library. I will find you. Now go."

I held onto Stormageddon's mane tightly, and hooked my legs in the crook behind his wings. We cantered out of the stable after Hermes had given us the signal that it was all clear, and then the Pegasus stretched out his wings to their full extent. He trotted out the field behind the stable and broke into a run, then a gallop. His wings beat once, then twice. On the third flap, we took off.

It was not the same feeling as flying with Hermes, because we were going up and down a lot more, but there was so much more power in Stormageddon's wings that the up had a much greater effect than the down. It was terrifying and thrilling all at once.

"Have you ever done this before?" I called back to Ganymede.

"No!" he cried back. "I've never been allowed to ride any of the Olympian horses, let alone the Pegasus!"

"The Pegasus has a name," said Stormageddon irritably.

"Sorry, Stormageddon," said Ganymede.

We didn't speak much for a while, as the wind was rushing past us too loud for us to hear anything else. Soon, we were so high that I could see all of Olympus below us.

"There's Athena's palace!" I cried, pointing down at the library.

Stormageddon began our descent, and I prayed to any gods that were left that nobody would notice us as we came down. As we got lower, I could see the courtyard coming into view, and Stormageddon aimed his landing at it.

Fortunately, I didn't hear any cries of surprise or alarm as we daintily set down in the courtyard.

"Will you keep watch out here for us?" I asked Stormageddon.

"I will," he said. "Thank you for your attempt to make things right." He bowed his head and I leaned to kiss him between the eyes.

Ganymede took my hand and led me to the one entrance that we saw. Hermes was there waiting for us.

"Come!" he said. "We haven't much time!"

"What does this record even look like?" I asked as we made our way through the library. "And where is it?"

Hermes shot me a look. "I was at least told that much," he said. "It is near the back of the library, in a restricted section that only Athena and I can reach.

"If it's up high," Ganymede asked, "How does Athena reach it?"

As if in response, we heard a low hoot. I turned and saw a great owl above an archway.

"What is his name?" I asked.

"Her name," said Hermes, "Is Nova."

Upon hearing her name, the owl swooped down and landed next to us. It was larger than any other owl I had seen before, though it was still smaller than we were, and certainly too small to carry one of us.

"How does Athena get the record, exactly?" I asked. "Nova is far too small to carry her, surely."

The owl flew up into the air and grasped my shoulders in her talons. Instantly, I felt myself lifted off the ground.

"Okay," I said. "I get it. Not an ordinary owl." Nova set me back down on the ground.

Hermes bent down to be at the owl's height. "Nova, can you retrieve a book for us?" he asked. "You know which one."

With a soft hoot, Nova flew up to a high balcony where I could see an opening. In a couple of minutes, she flew back out of the opening with a book clutched in her talons. She hovered for a moment while Hermes took the book from her talons, and then fluttered back up to her perch above the archway.

"Thank you, Nova," said Hermes. He opened the book. "This is the record of all of the gods and the beings they have chosen as their successors. We need to find Zeus' first. Ah, here we are."

We leaned in as he reached the page with Zeus' symbol emblazoned at the top. Listed right underneath the name Zeus was the word 'successor' and a name was next to it.

"Captain Jack Harkness," I read. "Who is that?"

Hermes looked at me with trepidation. "That's what we're going to try to find out," he said. "It says here he lives in early 21st century Cardiff."

I didn't know what it meant by the 21st century, or where Cardiff was, but that was not the thought pressing most on my mind, and Ganymede voiced it.

"How are we going to get to 21st century Cardiff?" he asked.

"Hold on," said Hermes. "There may be some sort of instructions at the front of the book." He flipped back. "Ah, there in the table of contents: retrieving the successors." He found the page. "If in the event a god has been killed or otherwise incapacitated, you must locate the successor and return him or her to Olympus. To do so, place your finger to the name of the successor in question."

He looked at us. "Are we ready for this?" he asked.

At that moment, we heard a horrible whinny, and Stormageddon galloped in to the room. "They are coming," he said. "One of those abominations spotted Hermes coming in to Athena's palace. That Sloth creature is back with Hades and told the Master about your betrayal. They will be here in minutes."

I nodded. "Thank you, Stormageddon," I said. "Please return to your stable. You must not be caught up in this plot like we are."

He bowed low and then took off again. I turned back to Ganymede and Hermes. "Ready or not, here they come," I said. "Let's do it."

Hermes flipped back to Zeus' page. As one, the three of us pressed our fingers to the name of Captain Jack Harkness. There was a rush of light, a gust of wind, and then darkness.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Nine

Torchwood

When I came to, the three of us were sitting on top of a very tall building. There was a man wearing a long blue coat standing near the edge of it. His hands were on his hips, and it seemed like he was waiting for something to happen. Maybe we were it.

"We detected some rift activity at this location," he said. "It's convenient for us because our base is just a mile from here, and convenient for me because I just enjoy standing on top of tall buildings."

Not for the first time, I was very confused.

"Um," I said thickly. "Who are you?"

"We're Torchwood," said a female voice in a strange accent. "My name is Gwen Cooper. What's yours?"

I got up slowly, not sure what to say. They wouldn't believe me if I told them the truth. However, it seemed like they would pick up on it if I lied. This Gwen Cooper person appeared to be very understanding at least. I decided to start with part of the truth.

"My name is Pandora," I said. Gwen looked at the man in the coat, who had turned around. He was strikingly handsome, and had a very confident air about him.

"And your companions?" he said. "What are their names?" He was eyeing my clothing very closely.

"I believe we asked who you were first," said Hermes, shaking his head clear as he woke up.

"Oh, where are my manners?" said the man, and he hopped down from the edge of the building and strode forward. "Captain Jack Harkness," he said, holding out a hand. Hermes took it and used it to stand up. He shook Jack's hand.

"My name is Hermes," he said. "My companion is Ganymede, and you, Captain, are just the person that we need to talk to."

Jack made a skeptical expression. "You came here through the rift just to talk to me?" he asked. "I'm honored. What is it that you need me for?"

Hermes looked at Gwen, and then back to the Captain. "Not here," he said. "You said you have a base nearby?"

"I do," said Jack. "We were planning to bring you there anyway, so I'm glad you're being cooperative."

Hermes frowned. "I appreciate the hospitality, Captain, but do not think that you will be running this meeting. You have something much more important to run."

"Well, let's not waste any time then," said the Captain, gesturing. "Let's get started."

We walked towards another edge of the building. In a couple of moments, I saw Jack and Gwen disappear over it. I gasped.

"Don't be alarmed," said Jack, popping his head up. "It's just a flight of stairs. I'm sure that you don't have many of these in ancient Greece, but your world is about to be shaken up by more than just a couple of flights of stairs."

With as much as I had seen already, I could have assumed nothing more could surprise me. I had already thought that before and had been proven wrong. This time I decided to just go with it, and followed Hermes down the stairs, with Ganymede right behind me.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, Jack and Gwen led us to something that was jet black and four wheels. I assumed it was some sort of carriage. Gwen opened a door on the side of it and allowed me to climb in. She fastened a strap around me to keep me in the seat. Hermes got in front of me, and Ganymede and Gwen got in on the other side. Jack sat in the front of the carriage on the left with a wheel in front of him. He turned to look at the three of us.

"I'm not sure how familiar you are with modern technology, but for the sake of brevity, let's say this is a horseless carriage that we call a car," he said. He turned something near the wheel and I could feel the car come alive.

"What's happening?" I shouted before I could think.

"The car's just starting, dear," said Gwen. "It's nothing to worry about."

I nodded, calming down. Then we started to move, and I clutched Gwen's hand next to me. She patted it soothingly. I think I liked Gwen. She was very nurturing, and helping me get accustomed to what was going on.

Jack, on the other hand, was cocky and all business. He and Hermes were talking in the front of the car.

"So Hermes, what brings you to Cardiff?" asked Jack.

Hermes was clever in his response. "I looked it up in a book and said 'We're going there,'" he said. I smirked a little. It was the truth, after all.

"What did you see that made you want to come here?" asked Jack.

Hermes smiled at him. "As I said, Captain, we are here to talk to you," he said. "You were chosen."

"Oh, chosen," said Jack. "I see. What was I chosen for?"

Hermes held up a finger. "Now, now, Captain," he said. "It is best to wait until we get in a more private setting."

"I have a question," said Ganymede, who had stayed silent for the whole trip. "What makes you think that we are from ancient Greece? Perhaps we are modern Greeks."

"Call it a hunch," said Jack. "Your names, for one brought a few things to mind. Like the gods."

We stopped all of a sudden, and my strap held me in place. I was happy that Gwen had fastened it for me. It really was a great invention.

"Last stop," said Jack. "Everyone get out."

Gwen unfastened the strap from me, and reached across to open the door. I got out and looked up. My jaw dropped. "Did you build this?" I asked Jack.

It was a tower that was black with silver trim, and water was running down the sides of it without ceasing. It was a miracle.

Jack laughed. "No, I didn't build this," he said. "The city of Cardiff is responsible for this. But if you think this is good, just wait until you see the inside."

He led us to a small building that was about the size of the house I shared with Epimetheus. Just thinking about him brought a bad taste to my mouth.

We went inside, and then Jack led us through another door. While the inside of the small building was very dark and brown with all the wood, the stairwell we were in now was silver and grey, with the walls giving off a bit of a shine.

We went down the stairs, and I held onto a railing on the side to keep my balance. We ended up at a very wide door that had a wheel in the center. It looked very heavy. Jack did something on the wall next to the door and it opened by itself.

"Is that magic?" I asked Gwen softly.

She smiled at me. "No, dear," she said. "That is just modern technology, and it doesn't get much more modern than Torchwood.

We stepped inside, went through a gate, and I was filled with awe as I looked around.

The tower that we had seen outside on the surface extended down here as well, and was just as tall in the chamber we were in now as it was on the surface.

A squawk sounded around us, and a large bird flew over our heads. But it was not like any other bird I had ever seen before. It was scaly and had leathery wings. There was long crest on the back of its head, and a very long beak.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Oh, that is our pet pterodactyl," said Jack. "One of our team helped bring it in after it came through the rift."

"Why can't it be out in the open?" asked Ganymede.

"Because pterodactyls have been extinct on Earth for millions of years," said Gwen. "The locals get scared enough with the other things that we deal with. No sense bringing dinosaurs into the mix."

I didn't bother asking what dinosaurs were, but I assumed that it was somehow related to the creature now screeching on top a walkway above us.

"Let's go up to my office," said Jack, pointing towards a room that I could see into clearly. "We'll discuss everything there."

We followed him up and sat down in very comfortable seating arrangement at a table made of dark wood.

"So," said Jack. "You're from ancient Greece, and you came here to talk to me specifically. You pointed at Cardiff in a book, and you were automatically transported here."

"Yes," said Hermes. "That about sums it up."

"But why do you need to talk to Jack?" asked Gwen.

"Before we get to that," said Hermes, "We do have a few things to explain first."

Jack sat back and opened his arms. "I'm all ears," he said. "Hit me with it."

Hermes went on to explain that the ancient gods, while immortal, were not invincible. Therefore, they needed to choose successors in the event that something happened to them, be it death or otherwise being incapacitated.

"Uh huh," said Jack. "Go on."

Hermes looked at me. "This part of the story is yours to tell, Pandora," he said. "You let him out."

I pleaded with my eyes not to make me tell that story, but Hermes' mouth was set. I looked at Jack.

"I opened this jar," I said. "I wasn't supposed to, but I was angry and reckless and stupid. It even said on the jar not to open it, but what else was I going to do with that?"

Jack nodded. "I know a bit of your story," he said. "I never thought I would get to hear you tell it. So you opened the jar."

"I thought it was a box?" said Gwen, looking at Jack with confusion.

"No," he said. "That's a mistranslation. It was a jar."

"Yes," I said. "I opened the jar, and it knocked me out. I woke up some distance away and there was a man there."

"Who was it?" said Jack.

"He called himself the Master," I said. "I still don't know what that means."

Jack sat up quickly, and there was terror in his eyes. "No," he said. "It can't be."

Gwen looked at Jack. "Is this a story you haven't shared with me, Jack?" she asked. "Is this about when you went off with the Doctor?"

He nodded wordlessly. He was still staring at me with his mouth hanging open. It was almost as though he were staring through me, like he couldn't see me at all.

"Jack?" said Gwen.

Jack, however, appeared to not be able to hear anything. "But," he said. "But, I watched him die!"

My eyes widened in shock as he focused his gaze back to me. "Tell me everything about him. What was he wearing, what did his face look like?"

"Um," I stammered as I tried to recall. "He was wearing something very similar to what Hermes is wearing," I said, gesturing at the god's outfit. "He had a very nicely trimmed beard, and he was an older man in body. His eyes, though," I trailed off as I remembered looking into them. "Those eyes of his had seen much more than the oldest person I know. He was very old, for sure."

Jack's terror grew. "It must be another regeneration of the Master," he said to nobody in particular. "It couldn't be the one that I saw. Still," he said, and his eyes snapped up. "Whatever his plan is, we have to stop it."

"It's too late for that, Captain," said Hermes. "His plan has been carried out already!"

"What was his plan?" asked Jack urgently. "What did he do?"

"He became immortal," said Hermes. "He turned the gods into different versions of himself. And he gave them all different names. He named them Pride and Lust and Gluttony and Greed and Sloth and Wrath and Envy."

"The seven deadly sins," said Gwen under her breath.

"Wait," said Jack. "Let me get this straight. The Master decided to put his own vices into the ancient gods of Greece so he would be immortal?"

"Yes," said Hermes. "That is correct."

Jack sat back again. "Normally, I would think that was hilarious," he said. "You can't become immortal that way because you can never truly get rid of your vices. He will always feel pride, and greed, and envy, and all of the others. If he got rid of pride first, he would not feel the need to get rid of any of the others." He sat forward again. "The big problem is back in your time, though, right?" he asked.

Hermes nodded. "Since the gods have been taken over in this way, they are now in control of Olympus, and by extension, all of Greece."

"He made Zeus, I mean, Pride, kill Athena right in front of us," I interjected.

Jack nodded. "So now we come to the big question," he said. "We come to the question that, so far, you have failed to answer for me. Now I think I have the answer, but do please confirm it for me." He stood up with his arms folded across his chest. "What does this all have to do with me?"

Hermes cleared his throat. "Well, as I said, the gods choose an heir should they ever be killed or otherwise incapacitated. Zeus has chosen you, Captain."

There was a silence. Then Gwen spoke up.

"Wait," she said. "So you're telling us that Jack Harkness is going to rule Olympus?"

Hermes took a breath and nodded. "Yes," he said. "That is exactly what I'm telling you."

"Why on Earth would Zeus have chosen me?" asked Jack. "I mean, the good looks and charisma aside, what sets me apart from the rest of humanity?"

Gwen looked at him. "Really, Jack?" she said. There was a definite sarcastic tone to her voice. "What could possibly set you apart from the rest of humanity?"

"Oh, that," he said.

Hermes raised an eyebrow. "What is it she is referring to, Captain?" he asked.

Jack grinned. "Well, it's a funny thing," he said. "It really makes me the best choice to be a god. Gods are immortal, right, but not invincible, as you say." Hermes nodded. "Why not find an heir that would be invincible as well as immortal?"

I leaned forward. "Are you saying that you can't die?" I asked with a lowered voice.

He raised his eyebrows. "Yup," he said. "That is exactly what I'm saying. I can die, of course, just like anyone else," he amended. "And it can be the most painful experience, more so than you can imagine. But then," he said, raising his hands in the air, "I come back."

"Well, that's fantastic!" said Ganymede. "We could really use someone that can't be killed back on Olympus!"

"Then we have a problem," said Jack. "I'm not leaving here."

"I'm sorry?" said Hermes. He did not seem sorry at all. "Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said that you would not be coming with us."

"No, you heard me correctly," said Jack. "This is my home, and this is where I'm needed."

I frowned. After we had explained the situation to him, and considering his very strong reaction to the news that the Master was behind it, I had expected the captain to be more than willing to come back with us.

"But Captain," said Hermes. "Have you not met this Master before? You know the scourge that he is, and that he must be stopped at all costs?"

Jack nodded. "I do," he said. "I know very well the devastation that he can cause. And that is precisely why I am needed here. My team has been reduced to just the two of us." Gwen reached out and took Jack's hand at this. He must have been very close to the fallen team members.

"I am sorry for your losses, Captain," I said. "But surely you must understand that since we come from the past, and the Master is back there, he can wreak havoc that will affect all of human history. Would it not be better to go back and help to stop him before it really changes things here?"

Jack sighed and looked at Gwen. "I can't leave you all alone here," he said.

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "But you of all people know that I can take care of myself just as well as you can, Jack," she said. "And these people need you much more than I do right now. I will be fine."

"Okay, fine," said Jack, sitting back down. "What do I have to do? Does it have something to do with this book?" He held up the record of heirs that we had gotten from Athena's library.

"I picked it up off of you while you were unconscious," he told Hermes. "I looked through it a little, but I couldn't understand much of it."

Hermes laughed. "You're not the only one," he said. "It looks like we'll be learning how to do this together. And once we've gotten you into the place of Zeus, we need to find the other heirs."

"Why couldn't you find the others first?" asked Gwen.

"The other gods on Olympus don't know that anything is wrong," said Hermes. "They think that Pride is still Zeus, and that he's still the one in charge. In reality, Pride is just relaying orders from the Master."

"And the rest of the gods are just taking it as the ultimate word," added Ganymede.

Hermes continued. "That is the real reason that we need you, Captain. Even though this Pride still carries all of the powers of Zeus, he is no longer Zeus. We need Zeus' rightful successor to take back control of Olympus. Once the other gods see a former mortal display the powers that Zeus has, they will realize that they have been hoodwinked. They will fight back."

Jack handed Hermes the book. "Okay, let's find out how to make me a god. I never thought I'd have to say that," he added as an aside. "I thought it was just a given."


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Ten

The Makings of a God

"Okay," said Hermes, opening the book back to the instructions. ""If in the event a god has been killed or otherwise incapacitated, you must locate the successor and return him or her to Olympus. To do so, place your finger to the name of the successor in question."

"So that's how you got here?" interjected Gwen. "You just put your finger there and you were transported here?"

Jack nodded. "It makes sense," he said. "It activated the rift energy. I wonder where the other heirs are and if those places will set off rift signatures as well."

I still wasn't sure what he meant by rift energy, but whatever it was must have been important.

Gwen saw my confused look and tried to explain. "The rift is a tear in space time," she said. "It's centered right here in Cardiff, and this tower just so happens to be built right in the exact spot that it centers on." She smiled. "I have an ancestor of a few hundred years ago that was the subject of a bit of rift activity. Charles Dickens was there too, along with some old friends of Jack's."

I looked at Jack. He didn't seem that old, but since he said that he couldn't die, perhaps that meant that he couldn't age, either.

"We monitor the rift here in the hub," she went on. "All these wires and systems are hooked up to it. When you were transported, it set off some alarms that we have in place. That's how we found you."

"What's next in the book?" asked Jack.

Hermes was reading. "Once you have located the heir, they must pass the test of their predecessor."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I have to pass a test?" he asked incredulously. "I haven't even studied though!"

Gwen looked up. "If Zeus had already chosen him to become the heir, why does he have to pass a test?"

Hermes read on. "The successor must prove him or herself worthy to carry on the name of the god or goddess that chose them."

"That doesn't make sense though," said Jack. "Shouldn't the choosing itself prove that the heir is worthy?"

"Gods are not all perfect," said Hermes. "We make mistakes, just as humans do. We may choose someone that is unfit for our position. The successor must pass the test to prove that they are truly the right decision."

"Okay," said Jack. "What's my test?"

"Each test is specified by the predecessor, and is listed along with the record of their chosen successor," said Hermes. He flipped back Zeus' page, that listed Captain Jack Harkness' name and location. He looked on the facing page and read aloud. "The test for the successor of Zeus is to ride the lightning."

Jack's brow furrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "Ride the lightning?"

Hermes shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "Of course, Zeus has been known to throw bolts of lightning, and that is his symbol. How one is supposed to ride the lightning, I'm not sure."

Jack held out his hand. "May I see the book?" he asked.

Hermes nodded and handed it over. Jack looked at it carefully, and peered at the page listing his test. "So when you touched my name, it brought you to me, right?" he asked.

"That's correct," said Hermes. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," said Jack. "If the rest of this book works the same way that your transport system does, then maybe I just have to touch the test."

"Touch the test?" asked Ganymede. "You mean the words that are written there?"

"Yes," said Jack. "Then I'll be either transported to the test, or the test will begin." He held his finger poised above the words 'ride the lightning'. "There's only one way to find out," he said, grinning.

We all watched with bated breath as he pressed his finger to the words. After a few seconds, we let out a great sigh of disappointment. Nothing had happened.

"Oh well," said Jack. "It wouldn't be much of a test if it were that simple, I suppose. I guess we have to find some lightning then."

"How do we do that?" asked Gwen.

Jack smiled. "We stir up a storm." He pointed at the rift machinery.

Gwen stood up and shook her head. "No," she said. "You are absolutely not allowed, Jack Harkness."

"Don't worry, Gwen," he said. "We've manipulated the rift's energy before."

"Yes," she said. "And hundreds of people died because of it."

Jack waved her off. "I can't believe you've forgotten already. I beat that creature, dying in the process, and I'm back. We've messed the rift other times too, and it hasn't been too bad. Besides," he said, heading over the machinery. "We can change the settings to activate it only very mildly, and not to allow anything through."

"And what about the weevils?" she asked. "The weevils will go mad, never mind that beast. There will still be mass murder in the streets with those things coming out of the sewers."

"What are weevils?" I asked.

"Aliens," said Jack. "That's essentially what they are. They are carnivorous beasts that live underneath the city. The rift messes with their biology, and they come out whenever it's especially active. But," he said, holding up a finger to Gwen. "I can fix that too." His fingers flew over the machinery and I heard a lot of clicking. "There," he said. "Now there are the perfect settings for a mild lightning show and no adverse effects on Earth or elsewhere in time and space."

Gwen went over to him. "I don't know about this, Jack," she said.

He pulled his arm away from her touch. "You said it yourself, Gwen," he said. "These people need me, and the only way to make sure that I can help them is to pass their test." He nodded at the rift. "This is the only way to ensure that I can even take the test. At least support me while I try."

She looked pleadingly at him, and then turned away. "Okay, Jack," she said. "But I would like you to visit me now and again."

Jack went to her and pulled her into a hug. "Whenever I can," he said. He looked at Hermes. "I can come back and visit," he said. "Can't I?"

Hermes sighed. "I'm not very sure about that," he replied. "I'm sure, as king of the gods, that you will have certain privileges afforded to you."

Jack grinned. "You better believe I will," he said. He kissed the top of Gwen's head. "Wish me luck," he said. He pulled on his coat, and headed back out of the hub.

I looked at Gwen. "You'd better go after him," she said. "He'll need you as much as you need him, I think."

I was suddenly overcome with emotion, and I went and wrapped my arms around Gwen in a hug.

"Thank you, Gwen Cooper," I said. "I don't know how to repay you."

She pulled away and smiled. There were tears in her eyes. "You can make sure that you all get through this alive," she said. "And make sure that Jack Harkness comes back here to visit."

I nodded. "I promise," I said. I then turned and followed Hermes and Ganymede out of the hub, up the stairs, and out into the open.

We looked up at the building above us, and saw Jack standing on the edge of it. The storm was building up over the tour, and lightning and thunder were flashing around it. People all around us were running to and fro, trying to get into shelter. Jack had his eyes closed and his arms open, and he appeared to be waiting for something. I saw his hair stand on end even more than it already was, and his eyes snapped open. At that moment, he jumped into the air and off of the building. Lightning came down from the clouds at the same time and struck him.

I screamed as he turned completely white and fell down to the ground, twitching.

After a moment of standing in shock, we ran over to him. I tried to bend down over him, but Hermes held me back.

"He's just been struck by lightning," he said. "His body is charged right now, so it would not be wise to touch him."

I watched with bated breath, hoping that he had been telling the truth about not being able to die. His body was charred from being struck by the bolt, and mangled from landing on the rocky ground.

Suddenly, Jack took a huge gasp of air, and his body repaired itself in moments. He looked over at me and smiled. "That one will stay with me for a while," he said. "I've fallen off of taller buildings, but that is the first time I've been struck by lightning in the process." He looked over at Hermes. "So," he said, standing up and brushing himself off. "Did I pass the test? I think that what I just did certainly qualifies as riding the lightning."

Hermes made a noncommittal jerk of his head as he pulled out the book. "Let's see," he said. He turned to Zeus' page and his eyes widened. He turned the book around to show us.

There, in the place where an image of Zeus had been, was an image of the man standing before us. Down below, the words 'Successor: Captain Jack Harkness' had vanished, and been replaced by the words 'Successor: To Be Appointed.'

We all looked up and stared at the new Zeus. He grinned back at us. "I'm still Captain Jack Harkness," he said. "I don't feel very different."

Hermes smiled. "That's excellent, Captain," he said. "That, more than anything, is proof that your predecessor chose wisely." He knelt before Jack and bowed his head. "Your Highness," he said reverently.

Ganymede got down in the same way, and after a look from him, so did I.

"Okay, that's enough," said Jack. "Get up and stop bowing to me, I get enough of people on their knees in front of me."

Hermes snorted. "Yes indeed," he said. "Zeus has chosen well with his successor."

"Now," said Jack, clapping his hands together and looking a little surprised to see sparks fly from them. "Do we go back to Olympus?"

Hermes shook his head. "There were other gods that the Master converted," he said. "We need to find their heirs as soon as possible before he discovers the truth of them." He opened the book. "We will need Athena most of all," he said, turning to the goddess of wisdom's page.

There was the image of the goddess I had seen struck down. I scanned the page down to find the name of the successor.

"Hermione Granger," read Hermes. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Jack barked out a laugh. "I hate to tell you," he said. "I really do, but witchcraft and wizardry is fake."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you serious, Captain?" I asked. "After all that you have seen in your life, you don't believe in magic?"

"I believe in science and technology," he said. "After all, that's all magic is in the end."

"Okay," I said. "Explain the lightning that came out of your hands."

"Static electricity," he said without hesitation. "I was only just struck by lightning a few minutes ago."

I shook my head. "Let's just touch the girl's name and find out for sure whether or not this place is real."

Hermes held out the book for us each to touch. It was more difficult now with four people trying to touch the name, but we managed it. In seconds, I felt the sensation of a rush of wind and a flash of light.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Eleven

Hogwarts

I managed to stay conscious this time, and found myself on a field of grass with large wooden structures surrounding it in an oval shape. There were three posts on each end of the field with hoops at the top.

"Watch out!" I heard a voice yell above us, and ducked just in time for something to go swooping past my head. I looked at it as it zoomed away from me and saw that it was a black round object.

"Time!" called a different voice.

I was able to look around now and saw several people above us. They were all flying, not on wings, but what appeared to be poles with twigs attached to the bottom end.

One of the people zoomed down to land next to us.

"What the bloody hell are you doing out here?" he asked, taking off the leather thing he was wearing on his head. He had shockingly red hair and a very large quantity of freckles. "You're interrupting our Quidditch game!"

I had no idea what Quidditch was. I scowled, thinking that I was confused about a lot of things that were being mentioned to me.

Jack was the first one to stand up. "Hi," he said, extending his hand to the newcomer. "Captain Jack Harkness. And you are?"

"Ronald Weasley," he said. "Let me repeat myself: what the bloody hell are you doing on our Quidditch field?"

Hermes stood up and tried to mediate. "We are ever so sorry, Mr. Weasley," he said. "We did not mean to interrupt. We merely transported onto the field by mistake."

"Well, can you get you get off of it now?" asked Ron. Then he saw Hermes' wings. "Blimey," he said. "Maybe we can take a time out."

He waved up at the other people flying through the air, and they came down to land near us.

"Check this out," said Ron, pointing at Hermes' feet. "Isn't that wicked?"

"Whoa," said a dark skinned boy. "Do those really help you fly?"

In answer, Hermes unfurled his wings and took off. This received an enthusiastic response from the kids around us.

"Can you imagine Quidditch with no brooms, Seamus?" the dark skinned boy asked a sandy haired boy.

"Yeah, Dean," said the Seamus. "It would definitely be much less of a pain in the -"

"Seamus!" said a female voice, cutting him off. I turned to look, and there was a girl with very bushy hair that didn't appear to have been flying with the others.

"Sorry," he said. "I know that you aren't a huge fan of the swearing."

Her expression softened. "That's okay," she said. "It would just be nice if you would learn to use other words in their place. They would make you sound so much smarter and more sophisticated."

Ron and a dark haired boy with something on his eyes snickered. The bushy haired girl wheeled on them.

"Don't you two start," she said. "Just because we're back at school doesn't mean you can go back to your boyish attitude!"

Ron kept grinning, but the dark haired boy looked abashed. As I looked closer, I noticed a small lightning shaped scar on his forehead. "Sorry, Hermione," he said.

At the sound of this name, my group looked up. "Your name is Hermione?" asked Hermes.

She pushed a bit of her hair out of her face. "Yes," she said. "I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?"

Jack extended a hand. "Captain Jack Harkness," he said. I noticed Ron did not look very pleased with Jack's boldness. I thought Ron must have feelings for Hermione. That would make this complicated.

The rest of us introduced ourselves to the group. Hermione's eyes lit up. "But you can't be!" she said. "You simply can't be here!"

"And why is that, Miss Granger?" asked Hermes.

"Because," she said. "Because not only did you live thousands of years ago, you're also not even real!"

I scoffed. She looked over at me. "You're supposed to be Pandora," she said.

I nodded in defiance. "That is my name," I said.

She laughed. "But you're not real!" she said. "You're just a story! And the same is true for you!" she said to Hermes.

The dark haired boy with the scar stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Hermione, I'm not sure that it's very polite to insult our guests by telling them they're not real."

She looked at him and she did calm down after a moment. "Thanks, Harry," she said, and looked back at us. "I apologize. I was getting a little out of control, and I wasn't paying attention to the truth that my eyes can see. You are most definitely real." She looked back at me, and there was something like pity in her eyes.

"What exactly does my story say?" I asked her pointedly.

This surprised her. "Well," she started, looking between my face, the ground, and the others' faces. "The story goes that you opened a box and let out all the evils in the world."

Jack nodded. "You've got that right," he said. "And it's worse than you might think."

"It was a jar," I muttered.

Hermione ignored my comment. "What does the story mean by 'the evils in the world'?"

Hermes stepped forward. "It is a being called the Master," he said. "He has designs on becoming immortal, so he split up parts of himself into separate pieces."

Hermione and Ron both looked at Harry, who held up his hands. "Hey, I've already saved the world from one maniac that did that. Let some other Chosen One handle this."

"What are the pieces?" asked Hermione.

Hermes sighed. "He put the different parts into the major gods of Olympus. The gods are Zeus, Hera, Ares, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Poseidon, and Hades."

"There are seven of them?" Hermione asked.

Hermes nodded. "Yes," he said. "Seven separate pieces that the Master removed from himself. But the gods that he placed them in had successors in case something happened to them. We have found the heir of Zeus already, and he passed the test presented to him."

"Who?" asked Hermione.

"Can this discussion be taken off the pitch?" asked Ron. "We'd like to get back to our match."

We apologized and Hermione led us off the field to a small building outside of it.

"Who is the heir of Zeus?" she asked again.

Jack stood up. "That would be me," he said.

Hermione looked skeptical. "Prove it," she said.

Jack shrugged, and clapped his hands together. Sparks of lightning crackled between them, and he slowly brought his hands apart. He was now holding a small ball of lightning.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Whoa," she said. "I've never seen a spell that can do that before. How are you managing it without a wand?"

Jack grinned. "This is no spell, sweetheart," he said. "I've never believed in magic, but I rode some lightning earlier, and now I can do this. It's all in that book of theirs," he added, gesturing to Hermes.

At the word 'book,' Hermione's eyes lit up. "A book?" she said, suddenly excited. "Do you mind if I take a look through it?"

Hermes handed it over, and she placed it on a table nearby. She perused it very carefully, as though it were something very precious.

"This is amazing," she said. "This is a record of all the ancient Greek gods! And you're in here too!" she said, turning to Jack and Hermes. "You really are Zeus and Hermes." She turned around all the way, and her eyes were shining like she was meeting her heroes. "I never thought you were real."

Jack grinned. "It gets better," he said. "Take a look at Athena's page."

She flipped it to it quickly and scanned it. After a moment, she froze. Wide eyed, she looked up at us.

"But my name is in here," she said. "Why is my name in here?"

Ganymede smiled at her kindly. "Your name is there because Athena chose you to be her successor."

"So you're coming to take me back to Olympus?" asked Hermione with a bit of a squeak.

"That's correct," said Hermes.

"But I," stammered Hermione. "But what happened to Athena? You would only be coming to get me if something terrible happened to her!"

I looked at Hermes and motioned for him to go ahead. He sighed and explained everything to the young witch. By the end of it, she was nearly in tears.

"Let me get this straight," she said, breathing heavily. "You want me to come back to Olympus with you to take it back from this Master character and then officially take over for Athena?"

"You put it succinctly," said Hermes. "First, however, you must pass a test to prove that Athena chose correctly."

Terror descended upon Hermione. "A test?" she asked. "But I haven't studied! What is it going to be?"

Hermes pointed to the book that was still in front of her, and she scanned the opposite page.

"The successor to Athena must demonstrate wisdom beyond measure," she read aloud. "She also must practice learning and logic for pleasure. To overcome our Olympian gloom, she must go to a certain room, where they found an evil man's treasure." She looked up at us. "It's a riddle," she said. "It's a riddle in the form a limerick. I have to work it out to pass the test. And I know exactly where to go," she said, smiling. "Come on!" She got up and ran out of the building, and we followed close behind.


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Twelve

The Room of Requirement

We exited the building and ran around the outskirts of the field. When we rounded it, a huge castle came into view. I stopped suddenly and stared at it. "What is that?" I said aloud.

"That's Hogwarts!" Hermione called over her shoulder without slowing down. "Come on!"

The players soaring above the field must have noticed their bushy-haired friend running towards the castle, because two of them came zooming down to land and run alongside us. It was the dark haired boy with the scar, Harry, and the boy with the red hair, Ron.

"Hermione, where are you going?" shouted Harry.

"Is this guy bothering you?" added Ron, jerking his thumb at Captain Jack.

"We're going to the Room of Requirement!" she replied. "He's not bothering me, Ron, he's here to help. And I'm glad you're here Harry, you will be most useful."

Harry looked at Ron with a quizzical look, and Ron shrugged. "I've got no idea, mate," he said. "It must have something to do with them." He jerked his head to us.

I didn't know what the Room of Requirement was, but apparently Hermione did, and it was the room that Athena referred to in her test.

We reached the castle and burst through the big oak doors to come upon a huge entryway. Hermione led us to the right to come across a room full of staircases. I was almost not surprised that I could see many of the staircases moving.

She led us up one, and we had to wait for one to come our way to go up any farther. Hermione was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, clearly itching to get to the Room of Requirement.

"Why are we here, Hermione?" asked Harry, panting. "Why do you say that I'll be most useful?"

She shot him a look. "You need to remember where you found Voldemort's horcrux in there," she said. "And think hard. We haven't got much time, I think."

Harry looked taken aback. "But the horcrux was destroyed," he said. "Voldemort is dead, we all saw it."

She waved him off. "It's not about the horcrux, and it's not about Voldemort," she said. "Don't you understand? This is for them!" she finished, indicating us.

The staircase finally got to us, and we continued our trek upwards. I noted that Hermione had not told Harry and Ron about her being the heir of Athena. They would surely not take it very well, especially when they found out that she would have to come with us. I saved that information for later.

We finally left the staircases after seven flights and ran down a corridor. Then Hermione made us stop, and she walked in front of a certain patch of wall forwards, then turned around and walked past it again, and finally walked past it a third time.

She stopped and looked at Harry and Ron. "I really hope this works," she said. "I'm not sure what happened to the room after Crabbe's Fiendfyre destroyed everything. I haven't tried it since that night."

"Nor have I," said Harry darkly. "I've been trying to avoid the room. That night is still hard to get past. Those scars will take a long time to heal."

From the look on his face, I assumed that he was not referring to the scar on his forehead. Whatever had happened on the night they were talking about, he was clearly carrying a heavy part of it, and so was Ron. He hadn't said a word, and his ears were turning a bit pink.

While they had been talking, a door had formed in the patch of wall that Hermione had walked past three times. She went to it and rested her hand on the handle. She looked at her friends. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Ron looked away, but Harry nodded. "Just do it," he said.

She pulled open the door, and we stepped inside. It was a small room. On the far wall was a piece of paper. Hermione went to it at once and read it aloud.

"You must search upon the ground, the row the diadem was found. Thrice you'll knock, upon the rock, and pull what makes the hollow sound." She turned around. "But I asked the room to show me the room of hidden things," she said. "I didn't want just a note."

Harry stepped forward and took the paper off the wall. "Let me try, Hermione," he said. "I did get quite good at using the room, and I've found that room more times than I wanted to."

She nodded, and waved us all out of the room. We stood outside as she closed the door and it vanished into the wall.

Harry took a breath and walked past the patch of wall once, twice, and three times. A larger door appeared, and he grinned. He turned around. "This is the one," he said, and pulled the door open.

We stepped inside, and my jaw dropped. "I really hate being surprised by everything I see," I said. "But it really is very hard to believe that this room can be in the same place that the last one was."

The room had transformed into a huge chamber, even larger than Zeus' palace, and it was full of rows and rows of items that I couldn't name, but I assumed they were hidden and this was the room of hidden things.

Hermione looked at me and smiled. "I felt the same way when I first discovered I could use magic." She looked around. "Hogwarts is truly one of the most amazing places I've ever known."

I detected a hint of sadness to her voice, and knew that she had decided to see this through to the end, even if it meant leaving her friends behind here. I was grateful to her, but I wished we could bring them with us. The three of them had clearly shared many adventures and had a bond linking them.

Hermione shook her head as if to clear it and gestured to Harry. "Give me the note, Harry, and lead us to the place you found the diadem."

He nodded, and despite his obvious misgivings about the whole venture, stepped forward confidently.

Harry led us past rows and rows of items beyond count or imagination. I saw towers of chairs and couches stacked as high as the vaulted ceiling above us. I saw ancient wardrobes and hideous clothing, along with glass jars that contained foul looking liquids and other things inside them that I didn't want to think about.

"Here," said Harry finally, turning down a row and pointing toward an ugly statue of a man with a mole on his nose and pockmarks. The statue was just the head, and it had an old wig on it. Next to the statue was a book. Harry looked at it for a second, and then turned away, his face to the ground.

"Okay, Hermione," he said. "We're here."

Hermione took out the note that had been posted in the other version of the room we were in, and read it aloud again. "You must search upon the ground, the row the diadem was found. Thrice you'll knock, upon the rock, and pull what makes the hollow sound." She set the note down on top of the book, and started to crawl on the floor nearby.

The floor itself was solid stone, and she spent some time knocking with her fist on each stone. After what seemed to be a dozen tries, we heard a hollow sound.

Grinning, Hermione stood up, and took a small stick out of her sleeve. She pointed the stick at the stone that made the hollow sound. "Wingardium Leviosa," she said, swishing and flicking the stick. The stone rose up out of the floor, and hovered in front of her. She reached out her hand and took it.

Ganymede nudged Jack. "Is that magic enough for you?" he said, chuckling.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I suppose that's a pretty cool little spell," he said, giving in and smiling.

Ron turned to us and grinned. "We learned that one when we were eleven years old. It's a simple levitation charm. Do you want to see something really wicked?" he said, and took out a stick of his own.

"Not now, Ronald," said Hermione, who was examining the stone. "Put your wand away."

Disgruntled, Ron put his wand away. "I just wanted to show them how to make a fire."

Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "I think this room has seen enough fire, Ron," he said. Ron shrugged Harry's hand off and looked at Hermione's stone. She had started to pass it around to each of us.

When it was my turn, I inspected it closely. It seemed very ordinary to me, despite being lighter than it should. There were no openings on it. I knocked on it myself, and it was definitely hollow.

"Should I blast it open?" said Jack when he took it from Harry.

"No!" said Hermione quickly. "We don't know what could be inside there. We have to be very careful with how we open it up." She took it from Hermes, who had no clue what to do with it, and started feeling on all sides of it.

"What are you doing?" asked Ganymede.

"I'm trying to see if there's some sort of switch on it," she said. "Sometimes these things have hidden mechanisms that will make them open."

"Let me see that note again!" she said suddenly. Harry took it from the shelf Hermione had laid it on, being careful not to touch the book beneath it, and handed it to her.

She read it aloud one more time. "You must search upon the ground, the row the diadem was found. Thrice you'll knock, upon the rock, and pull what makes the hollow sound." She looked at us. "Oh, it's so obvious, I should have noticed it instantly." She knocked on the stone three times.

At once, a small light appeared on one side of it and started to grow. A hole was widening. Once it was fully open, Hermione reached inside and picked up what was in there. We waited with bated breath.

"It's another limerick," she said, and we exhaled all at the same time.

"What kind of bloody scavenger hunt is this?" asked Ron. "I had enough of that before when... well, you know." I knew he was talking about the war.

Hermione cleared her throat and read aloud. "Your task may be two thirds done, but the hardest remains before you are done. To be able to fly, tell your friends goodbye. Only then the war may yet be won." Her arms fell to her sides, and she dropped the paper and her wand on the ground. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"What's going on, Hermione?" asked Ron. "You need to let us in on what this is all about." He took her hands. "Please," he said, looking into her eyes. "I'm here for you."

She looked back at him, and her face was a mess of emotion. "Oh Ron," she said. "I know you are, and I love you so much for that." She looked at Harry and took his hand while still holding Ron's. "And you too, Harry. I love both of you so much, and I'm going to miss you."

"Hermione, what is it?" asked Harry. "Whatever it is, we're coming with you."

She shook her head, but couldn't speak any more. She fell against the pair of them, sobbing.

Hermes stepped forward. "I am truly sorry, gentlemen," he said. "But I am afraid that you can not come with us." He then further explained to them the problem of the Master, and the quest to find the successors of each of the gods.

"So that's why you're here?" asked Harry. "You're here because she's been chosen for this by Athena?" He looked at Hermione with panicked sorrow. "When I said let some other Chosen One handle this, I didn't realize that it would be you." He looked back at Hermes. "We're coming with you, whether you like it or not," he said. "She was there for me when nobody else was, and I'm never leaving her."

"The same goes for me," said Ron, holding Hermione close to him and kissing her hair.

Of all the things I had seen, I think this was the most shocking to me. This was not the same kind of love that I had thought that Epimetheus and I shared when we were together. My guess earlier was true. These three shared a bond that most certainly transcended everything I had thought possible. The only time I had seen it come close was between Jack and Gwen. I suppose that when you shared adventures of the kind those had people had shared with each other, you could not help but to fall in love with each other in a way that was not romantic, but something even closer than the closest friendship. These were not three separate people in front of me, but one unit.

I turned to Hermes. "They have to come," I said.

He shook his head. "I'm very sorry," he said. "But there is no way that it is possible."

Hermione looked over at us. "If they can't come along, there's no way that I could," she said, wiping tears from her face. She stepped away from Ron's embrace, and stood proudly in front of us. "Without these two by my side, I must decline," she said.

Jack spoke up for the first time in a while. "You know, Hermes," he said casually. "I do believe I am officially Zeus. Is that correct?"

Hermes nodded. "That is correct," he said.

"So that means that you have to follow my lead, right?" Jack asked.

Hermes nodded. "Yes, Your Highness," he said.

Jack shook his head. "First of all, cut out the Your Highness crap," he said. "My name is Captain Jack Harkness. So you either can call me Jack or Captain Harkness. Hell, I'd even be fine with just Captain." He put his hands behind his back. "And since I am Zeus, I believe I know what my daughter would have wanted, and how her successor would pass or fail her test." He looked at Hermione. "This young lady is many things, but she is certainly not a failure. By refusing to come with us without the two people in her life that she is closest to, she has displayed true wisdom." He smiled. "She is, without doubt, the perfect Athena. And if she will not come without these two, then I will not have her without these two," he finished, putting his arms around Harry and Ron's shoulders.

Hermes looked a little disgruntled, but nodded his assent. I grinned. Things were looking up.

"So how does this work?" asked Hermione. "How do I become Athena then if I've passed the test?"

As if in answer, a light shone from the hole where the hollow stone had been. Hermione reached inside and pulled out a small glass container. "This wasn't there when I lifted the stone out," she said.

Ron grinned. "It's the room," he said. "It knew that you needed to become Athena, so it's giving you just the right potion to do it."

Hermes chuckled. "Athena always was very clever," he said. "She would have made it so that you would find that only when you had passed the test."

Hermione inspected the potion in the vial for a few moments, then uncorked it and smelled it.

"What does it smell like?" asked Harry.

She wrinkled her nose. "Honestly, it smells like the Owlery," she said, and sniffed it again. "It smells like owl droppings, to be specific." She pinched her nose and put the vial to her lips.

"Wait!" said Ron. "How do we know that it's safe to drink?"

But it was too late. Hermione had tipped the vial up, and the contents had poured down her throat. She made a face as she swallowed. "Yuck," she said. "It's not as bad as Polyjuice Potion, but it is pretty close."

"Do you feel any different?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not really," she said. "Though I now have the uncontrollable urge to go to the library."

"That's not a change at all," said Harry, and he and Ron laughed. Hermione shot them a look, but then started giggling herself.

"So now what?" asked Ganymede. "We've gotten two so far, but we still need the other six."

Hermes nodded. "We still need to find the heirs of Ares, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Poseidon, Hades, and Hera." He looked to Hermione, who was now Athena. "Who should we retrieve first?"

She looked taken aback. "I'm not sure," she said. She took the book from Hermes' outstretched hand and flipped through it.

Ron spoke up. "I suppose it depends on who the heir is and how much we will need them specifically," he said.

Hermes looked affronted. "I believe that we will need all of them, and it's not a matter of who they are or how useful they will be to us." He looked again at Hermione.

She nodded. "You're right," she said. "All of the gods are important. We could say Ares first because he's the god of war, and we may need a warrior, but how can we be sure that we need to get through this all by fighting?" She scratched her chin as she paged through. She looked up and smiled. "Right now, though, I could use a bit of fun. What would you say about retrieving Dionysus?"


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Thirteen

The Pirate

Captain Jack grinned. "I'm all down for a party," he said. "Who has the party god chosen as his heir?"

Hermione turned the book around to show us the page. Dionysus' picture was there, and the name of the successor was Captain Jack Sparrow, and he was in the Caribbean. We all looked at our own Captain Jack, whose mouth was just gaping. He opened and closed it a few times before he finally seemed to be able to use words again.

"Well," he said. "I suppose there's always room for another Captain Jack, ha-ha." He had what I thought of as his trademark grin on, but I could see something behind it as well.

After explaining how to get to them, and some maneuvering, all seven of us managed to touch the name of the new Dionysus. The now familiar sensation happened, and at once, we were standing on the deck of a large wooden boat with black sails.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were surprisingly still on their feet after being transported. The rest of us looked at them in amazement.

"That was just like a portkey," said Ron, dusting himself off.

"Though judging by the ship we're on, we've not only traveled in space, but also in time," said Hermione. She stepped to the railing of the ship and ran her hand along it.

"Who are you and what are you doing on my ship?" said a voice that slurred a lot more than a sober person's would.

We whirled around and came face to face with a very eccentric looking man. Behind him were several others. One had a bird on his shoulder. Another man was very short.

"I will ask you one more time," said the eccentric man. He had a large hat and a sword pointed at us. "Who are you, and what are you doing on my ship?" He lowered the sword and leaned on it. "And then there's the most important question of all," he said. "Why is the rum gone?"

"You drank it all, Cap'n!" said a portly man close behind him.

"Quiet, Mr. Gibbs!" said the man with the hat.

Jack stepped forward. "Are you Jack Sparrow?" he asked.

"There should be a 'Captain' in there somewhere," said the man. "But yes, I am Captain Jack Sparrow. Who might you be?"

Jack grinned and extended his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."

Sparrow's eyes narrowed. "There's only room for one Captain Jack on this ship," he said, and he raised his sword again.

"Then it's a good thing that we're leaving it," said Jack Harkness, and he pulled out a metal device and pointed it at Jack Sparrow. "And you're coming with us, Captain Sparrow."

The man's crew all laughed. "No one tells Captain Jack Sparrow what to do, mate," said the short man.

The parrot squawked. "Shiver me timbers," it said.

Their captain smiled, not turning around to look at his crew. "Cotton's right," he said. "Bring it on."

Jack Harkness shrugged and pointed his metal device at the wood at Sparrow's feet. He pulled on something and a flash of light went from the device to the deck. The deck promptly disappeared from under Jack Sparrow and he went crashing to the deck below.

"Stop blowing holes in my ship!" he yelled from down there.

Jack smiled and shot the device at the deck again. The wood reappeared there. All of the men in Captain Jack's crew were amazed. The portly man stepped forward.

"How did you do that?" he asked, leaning close to inspect the metal device.

"Uh uh uh," said Jack. "Don't touch it. If it's not used properly, it could do the same thing to your body that it did to the deck."

That got the man to back off. We heard a rustle and a banging and turned to look. Jack Sparrow was climbing out from the lower deck of the ship.

"Well, mate," he said. "That is some kind of gun that you've got there. I hope your aim is better than your coat."

Jack Harkness snarled at him. "Don't knock the coat," he said. "Your hat is tacky."

Sparrow's eyes grew wide, and his crew shut their still gaping mouths. "What did you say?" he asked.

Harkness stepped close to him and calmly slapped the hat off of his head. "That hat is tacky, and I won't have it on my mountain."

Sparrow rushed to retrieve it and put it back on his head. "I don't know what you're on about, mate, but whatever this mountain of yours is, I'm not going."

I decided that it was time for me to step in before this show went on. "Excuse me, Captains," I said, and all eyes looked at me. I looked at the ground, to collect myself. This was not the sort of group to lose one's cool around. "I'm afraid that we have some business to discuss. Would you care for a party?"

At this, the crew's eyes lit up. "Tortuga?" a thin man with what looked like a fake eye asked. "Are we going to Tortuga?"

Jack Sparrow looked at me carefully, and I could tell he was sizing me up. After a moment, he let out a yell of "Aye!"

Instantly, the crew of the ship went to work. Some pulled on ropes to get the sails to turn, and others went below deck.

"Come!" Jack Sparrow said to me, and he gestured us all along. "This ship is too large for people on it to not have something to do. We must to business," he said to me, and he smiled, showing blackened teeth.

I smiled back and beckoned for my companions to follow. We all went through a set of doors near the stern of the ship, and into what I assumed must have been the Captain's quarters. There were maps spread across tables, and there was a small bed against one corner.

"There aren't enough seats to go around, I'm afraid," he said. He pulled out the one chair next to the table and plopped down in it. He lifted his legs up on to the table in front of him. "Now," he said. "You mentioned something about a party."

He was looking at me, but I looked at Hermione. This had been her idea, after all. She stepped forward and spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Sparrow," she said.

"You can skip the pleasantries, love," he said. "Though I will say it's a pleasure to meet you." He extended a hand to her and kissed her offered one.

"Watch it, mate," said Ron, stepping to Hermione's side.

Jack Sparrow scowled. "Every time a woman shows interest in me, she has to have a knight in shining armour for a boyfriend. Oh don't take offense to that, mate," he said to Ron as the redhead's ears started to turn red. "It's dead honorable for you to stand up for your lady's honor. Though I daresay she can stand up for her own." He gave Hermione a toothy grin.

"He's right, Ronald," said Hermione. "I am perfectly capable."

She looked back at Captain Jack Sparrow. "I will say one thing, Captain," she said, and stuck her finger in his face. "I am not available, and you will not be able to lure me away in any form or fashion from the man that I love."

Jack continued to smile at her. "You seem awfully sure of yourself for a little girl," he said. "Are you sure you know what love is?"

"Can we please not do this?" said Jack Harkness. "We were talking about a party, and now we have some flirting going on. Athena, honey, just ignore him and let's get down to business."

Hermione turned on her heel and marched back to Ron's side, where she planted herself firmly. I sighed. This was not going well.

"Look," said Jack Harkness. "I know well and good your kind of man, Jack Sparrow. Captain," he added after a look of disapproval from Sparrow. "And we need you. We need you to take a look at this book." He held his hand behind him, and Hermes placed the book of heirs in it.

Jack Sparrow furrowed his brow at the sight of it. He took it and inspected the cover. After a moment, he turned to us, wide-eyed.

"Where did you get this?" he asked. "And did you just call that little strumpet Athena?"

Ron almost went after him at that comment, but managed to hold himself back.

Hermes stepped forward. I supposed that even though Jack Harkness was Zeus, Hermes still had the most experience in being a god, and he and Ganymede knew Olympus the best.

"My name is Hermes," he said.

Jack Sparrow nodded. "I gathered that by your little addition, mate," he said, nodding at the wings at his ankles. "I know of the gods of ancient Greece."

I scoffed. I covered my mouth to try to disguise it as a cough, but he turned to me.

"You don't think that a pirate can be a learned man, love?" he asked. "I know more than you guess." He looked at me, and the company around me. "I don't know who they are," he said, pointing at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and at Captain Jack Harkness. "They don't fit into the ancient Greek thing. This one here wouldn't have either," he added, nodding at Hermes. "But I noticed those wings of his. And you and Pretty Boy here fit the Greek thing perfectly. So who are you?"

I looked at Ganymede. I wasn't sure why Sparrow had called him Pretty Boy. He was handsome and nice to look at, I supposed. I shook my head to clear it, and looked back at Sparrow.

"My name is Pandora," I said. "And I know that I am known to you as well, if you know of my companions."

Indeed, his eyes had lit up in recognition at the name Pandora. Then his face split into the smile again.

"Well, then, why didn't you say so, love?" he asked. "I could have been much more accommodating to you then." He stood up and offered me his chair. I didn't take it, but stared stonily at him.

"I know what you're trying to do," said Jack Harkness, who was staring at Sparrow just as stonily as I was. "You're a pirate, and you know about her. You know that she opened a box. Or at least you think you know that she opened a box. Do you know what that box contained?"

Jack Sparrow didn't flinch. "It's said that Pandora's Box contained all the evils in the world," he said. "I don't know what that entails, but I intend to find out. If that box can be found, you could put the evils back in. Can you imagine what a bounty one would get for that?"

I started at this news. "Did you just say that you could get whatever came out of the box back into it?" I asked.

He shrugged. "What does it matter?" he said. "The box is lost in time, and we can't go to get it, no matter what."

I looked at Jack Harkness and Hermione. Maybe this was what we really needed to do. Get the rightful gods in their places so they could banish the imposters back to the box. We might even be able to deal with the Master at that point, because then the other gods would be able to stand beside us.

"Captain Sparrow," said Hermes, and he took the book from him. "You say you know of the gods of ancient Greece."

"Aye," said Sparrow.

"Did you also know that the gods had... what you could call contingency plans if something were to happen to them?" asked Hermes.

Sparrow's brow furrowed. "What do you mean if something were to happen to them?" he asked. "I was under the impression that the gods were immortal."

Hermes nodded. "We are immortal in that we can never age and die naturally," he said. "However, we may still be killed. And..." he paused. "Our life may be taken from us in other ways."

"What do you mean?" asked the pirate. "Get to the point!"

Hermes sighed, and launched into the explanation about the Master and what he had done to Olympus.

When he had finished, Jack Sparrow spoke up. "And what has this got to do with me?" he asked. "What were these contingency plans that you mentioned?"

"The gods chose successors," said Jack Harkness. "Someone to take their place that they knew would be able to carry on what they individually stood for." He grinned. "For instance, you are looking at Zeus right now."

Sparrow looked skeptically at the other Captain Jack for a moment, and then shrugged. He looked over at Hermione. "And you were chosen by Athena to be her successor?" he asked.

Hermione nodded proudly. "I am Athena," she said, and for the first time, it looked like she truly believed it. Even Harry and Ron seemed to be in awe of her at that moment.

Hermes spoke up again. "You were chosen as well, Captain Sparrow," he said. "Dionysus saw something in you that he saw in himself. He knew that you would be the one to take over for him if he were to be killed or taken."

"Is that it?" asked Jack Sparrow.

"What do you mean?" asked Ganymede.

Sparrow looked at Ganymede like he was an idiot. "I mean, do you just tell me that Dionysus picked me, and that makes me the new Dionysus?"

Hermes shook his head after a beat. "Not exactly, Captain," he said. "Each of the heirs must pass a test that their predecessor has chosen for them. Captain Harkness and Miss Granger have passed the tests presented to them, and are now Zeus and Athena. You must pass your test, and then we must go on to the other heirs to retrieve them."

"And what happens if I don't pass this test?" asked Sparrow. "What is the contingency for that?"

Hermes' eyes flashed. "Are you suggesting that Dionysus chose poorly?" he asked with more fire to his voice than I had yet heard. "Are you suggesting that you are not up to this task?"

Sparrow seemed cowed after that. "Okay, keep your toga on," he said. "What happens to my crew if I pass this test? Where do they go?"

"They can come with you," said Harkness automatically. "Every god needs someone to be of service to them. Your crew looks like they know how to have a good time," he said, grinning.

Sparrow grinned back. "They do at that," he said. "What is this test, then?" he asked, turning back to Hermes.

Hermes flipped through the pages until he reached Dionysus' test. "It says here," he read aloud, "That you have to drink every drop of alcohol on board your vessel."

There was a palpable drop in enthusiasm in the room from the whole group at that moment, but Sparrow's eyes lit up. He practically skipped to the door and opened it. "Mr. Gibbs!" he called.

In a moment, Mr. Gibbs was at the door. "What is it, Cap'n?" he asked.

"Mr. Gibbs, is there any rum left on the ship?" asked Sparrow.

Mr. Gibbs shook his head. "No, Cap'n," he said. "I told you earlier, you drank it all."

Beaming from ear to ear, Jack Sparrow turned to us. "You can consider that test passed, and consider me a god," he said proudly.

"No," said Hermione, taking the book from Hermes. "I'm afraid not, Captain. You see, your picture is not yet in the place of Dionysus, and the test clearly states that you have to drink every drop of alcohol on the vessel." She looked up. "Alcohol, Captain," she said. "Not rum. We need to find whatever else is alcoholic," she said with a scowl. "You're not getting any, Ronald," she said to her boyfriend, whose eyes had lit up. "The test says he has to drink it."

Ron shrugged. "I could be Dionysus too, you know," he said, but he leaned against the wall in agreement with her.

Hesitantly, Jack Sparrow turned back to Mr. Gibbs. "Mr. Gibbs," he said. "Be there any other alcohol on the ship?"

"Aye, Cap'n," said Mr. Gibbs. "There still be the wine."

Sparrow stuck his tongue out. "Yech," he said. "I never could stand the stuff. How much is there?"

"Ten barrels, sir," said Mr. Gibbs.

My jaw dropped. How in the world was this man, who already seemed to be quite drunk, going to drink ten full barrels of wine?

Harry, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. "Hermione, does the test have a time limit?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "It just says that the successor must drink every drop of alcohol aboard the vessel," she said. She looked at Sparrow. "Do you think you can do that, Captain?" she asked.

"Of course I can do it!" said Jack Sparrow defiantly. "I just wish it were rum instead of wine."

"A vile drink, if I say so myself," said Hermione stiffly. "Wine will at least keep you sober enough to be a decent captain of this ship, especially if you like it as little as you say you do." She looked at the rest of us. "So, it seems as though we will be spending some time with this crew while in Tortuga when we arrive. The Captain here will stay with his ship and drink every last drop of alcohol. No one is to bring him any rum from Tortuga. The boats stay ashore the whole time."

Jack Sparrow scowled. "And who are you to say where I can and can not go, and what I can and can not drink?" he asked.

Her eyes flashed at him. "I am Athena," she said. "You would do well to remember it."

Harry leaned over and nudged Ron. "I wouldn't ever make her mad again, mate," he muttered. Ron shook his head in agreement.

Captain Sparrow turned to Mr. Gibbs. "Well, you heard the woman!" he shouted. "Have we arrived at Tortuga?"

"Aye, Cap'n!" said Mr. Gibbs.

"Then what are you waiting for, man!" shouted Sparrow. "Let's get the crew and these fine people ashore for their merrymaking! And bring up a barrel for me to enjoy!"

Mr. Gibbs nodded and rushed off to tell the crew of the plan. In moments, we heard a great amount of laughter, most likely at their Captain's expense. It appeared that he was well liked, but also was the end of many a joke.

Sparrow turned to us. "I am still the Captain of this ship," he said. "I will pass this test. Not a drop of alcohol will pass the lips of any other person aboard this vessel. And by the way," he added. "She's called the Black Pearl. You would do well to remember that."

As we filed out of the Captain's quarters, I ducked to avoid barrels of wine being brought up by the crew to the quarters. I heard Jack Sparrow call out to me.

"Pandora," he said, pulling me aside and gesturing the surrounding ocean. "I am of the sea. Why was I not the choice of Poseidon to be his successor?"

He looked genuinely distressed and hurt. I put a hand on his shoulder. "I do not know, Captain," I said. "I am not sure who Poseidon chose to be his heir, but I can promise you that he chose well. And I know that Dionysus chose his heir well also." I smiled kindly at him and kissed his cheek, then walked out of the quarters to follow the rest of the crew to the boats.


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Fourteen

Tortuga

We arrived on shore, and carried the boats far inland. That way, none of us would be tempted to take any rum back to the ship where Captain Jack Sparrow waited. It had been Hermione's idea.

"You needn't worry, Miss," said a stout, long haired man that seemed very close to the one with the wooden eye. "We love dear Captain Jack, but we love being in Tortuga more." He looked at his friend, and they both grinned. At once, all of the pirates ran at the town that seemed to be in a constant state of drunken debauchery. I made a face and went to Hermione.

"Do you actually approve of this place?" I asked her.

She smiled at me. "Not in the slightest," she said. "However, I am sure that we could all use the chance to loosen up a little bit, and the boys will appreciate it, I'm sure." Her eyes followed Harry and Ron as they went into a building that had a busty woman that seemed about to spill out of the top of her clothing hung over the edge of the balcony above it. "I really should keep any eye on those two, though," she said thoughtfully. "They do get into an awful lot of trouble when I'm not around. Even more, in fact, than they do when I am around," she said with a smirk. She took my hand. "Come on," she said, and we followed her two friends into the building.

I was shocked at what I saw in there. "Now this is something that Dionysus would love," I said softly.

Everywhere I looked, I saw mugs of alcohol, and other things that I wasn't sure I wanted to know about. There were men and women in various states of undress all around, and some were buried in each other in every state of the phrase.

"On second thought, we should grab the boys and leave," said Hermione as she spotted the two boys with mugs of what I assumed was rum. She went over to them with me close behind and we grabbed them to escort them out. I was glad that she was kind enough to allow them to keep the rum.

"What's the big deal, Hermione?" asked Ron, wiping his upper lip. "I've never had rum before, and I want to try it."

"That's the only thing you'll be trying here, Ronald Weasley," she said. "And the same goes for you, Harry Potter," she said to her other friend.

Harry was much quieter, I found. He had said before that he had saved the world. I didn't know that doing so could make someone be so distant from it.

I then realized that for the first time since I had woken up at Zeus' palace, I was not with Ganymede. He had gone off with Jack Harkness and Hermes. It was an odd feeling, but it was nice to deal with someone that knew what it was to be human.

The four of us ended up going to one of the quietest places in Tortuga. It was a small and comfortable, and well away from most of the debauchery that I was sure the others were getting up to.

Ron sat down at a table and looked around. "This place reminds me a bit of the Three Broomsticks," he said. "I wonder if we could get some butterbeer here."

I was about to ask what butterbeer was when Harry interrupted. "It feels more like the Leaky Cauldron to me," he said. "It's more out of the way, and not a lot of people are noticing it. Only people like us trying to get away from the outside world for a while."

Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement. Hermione then pulled out a small bag and reached her arm inside it. By now I was used to things being a bit bigger on the inside, so I wasn't too surprised when she brought out four glass bottles of something that was the color of honey.

"What is that?" I asked, but Ron's and Harry's eyes had lit up.

"Butterbeer!" cried an ecstatic Ron. He swiped the bottle from Hermione, taking a moment to thank her and tell her how brilliant she was, and took a long drink. "That stuff really is brilliant."

Hermione offered a bottle to me, and handed one to Harry as well. She shot a look at Ron, and he wiped the foam off of his mouth. She raised her own bottle once all of ours had been opened and spoke.

"To our new friends and companions, and to making the world safe," she said, and we all clinked the bottles together.

"What is that custom?" I asked politely before taking a sip of the butterbeer.

"That's called a toast," said Hermione. "It's traditional for friends or families to make a toast when sitting down for a drink together. It's a way of celebrating each other."

I smiled. I think I liked that tradition. I took another sip of the butterbeer. I could feel the warmth of it coating my whole body. I took a deep drink and had to agree with Ron.

"This is really amazing," I said. "I wish we had this in my village. It would have made the winters much more bearable."

Hermione smiled. "Perhaps we can get you the recipe to make it when you go back home," she said. "What was your village called?"

I was shocked to realize that we had never given our village a name. It was simply just our village.

"I don't think that my village was important enough to have a name," I said. "Names are only given to places of consequence."

Hermione's brow furrowed. "Well, I think that's shameful that you think your village is unimportant. You came out of it, didn't you?"

I shrugged. I had never really thought about it before, and I told her so. "I was not in charge of the village. We never had an official leader or anything. We all just sort of did our part. I was charged with making blankets from the sheep's wool that my brother in law would gather."

They asked more questions about my village and my life in it, and in the end the four of us decided on a name for it. We called it Pella. I saw Hermione hiding a giggle behind her butterbeer and realized that she knew all about Pella already, surely having read about it in a book.

"Hermione can make a fire in a jar," said Ron proudly after I had told the story about Epimetheus and the sheep leading us to the fire. "She's been able to do it since we were eleven. Go on, Hermione," he said, placing his already empty bottle on the table.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, but looked around carefully to make sure that nobody was around to see. She took her wand out of her sleeve and pointed it at the bottle.

In a moment, a ball of blue flame appeared inside the bottle. I was impressed, and held my hands towards the bottle. It was warm from the flame inside.

"That's incredible," I said.

Harry took out his wand quickly. "Finite," he said, pointing it at the bottle. "Hermione, we really shouldn't be drawing attention to ourselves around here. We don't know anybody here, or what they'll think about magic."

Hermione looked abashed, and put her wand away. "Sorry, Harry, I wasn't thinking."

"So tell me about your adventures," I said after an awkward pause. "I want to hear more about your world at Hogwarts. Were you born with magic?"

Harry stayed quiet for most of this conversation, while Ron took the lead with most of the story, with Hermione interjecting a few comments and details here and there. There were some parts of the story that they both looked to Harry to tell, and he grudgingly obliged.

"You don't seem very proud of yourself, Harry," I said when they were finished. "You saved your world, and maybe the whole world. Shouldn't you be happier?"

He kept looking at his bottle and refilled it with a flick of his wand. "Too many people died," he said flatly. "They were good people, and many of them were my friends. What is there to be happy about?"

"That their death wasn't in vain, Harry," said Hermione, placing a hand over his.

"Yeah, mate," said Ron. "What would Fred think of you behaving this way?" His voice cracked a little when he said his older brother's name. He was still struggling with it, I knew.

"And Teddy needs you to be positive for him," said Hermione. "Now we'll have no more of the sulking, Harry James Potter."

I smiled. Hermione was definitely the glue that held these boys together. I knew for sure now that Athena had chosen the perfect successor.

"Oh bloody hell," said Ron, looking over at the entrance. We all turned our gaze in that direction and sighed.

A soaking wet Captain Jack Sparrow was standing at the bar where he was asking for some rum.

As one, we all handed our bottles to Hermione to put back in her little bag and marched over to him. Ignoring his remarks, Harry and Ron picked him up under both of his arms and we escorted him smartly out of the building.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hermione said after they set him down in front of her around the side of the building.

Jack grinned. "Getting a drink," he said.

"You've got plenty to drink back on your ship, Captain," she said with her eyes getting narrower than I thought was possible. "I said for you to stay on there."

"Aha!" he said. "You said for nobody to take any rum back to the ship for me. Since I swam here from the ship to get the rum myself, your word is still being held."

She slapped him without hesitation.

"I'm not sure I deserved that," he said after a moment, rubbing the side of his face.

"Do you know what will happen if you don't take this seriously?" she asked him. "You will go back to your silly little life of pillaging and plundering. And what will it all be for? For a bit of treasure that some other pirate is going to come and plunder from you?" She stared at him, disgust evident in her face. "Now think about what will happen if you do take this seriously. You will be a god. You will be able to summon wine from your fingertips and have it taste just the way that you want it to. You can make it taste like rum. Your crew will be with you, and you can make merry to your hearts' desires." She got right in face now. "And the most important thing is that you will have saved the world from a maniac."

"It's no picnic, you know," said Harry. "I've had to do it, but there was a damn good reason."

"And there's a damn good reason now too," said Hermione. "If you don't help us now, you may not even exist anymore. All of this is happening in ancient Greece, a long time ago, but the effects will carry on through today and into forever if we don't stop it."

Jack Sparrow belched, and the stench that came out of his mouth caused us all to take a step back. "Fine," he said. "I'll drink the bloody wine." He stormed past us. "Do you expect me to swim back to the ship?"

"Yes," said Hermione, following him. "You swam from the ship to the shore, so you can make it back easily enough."

Jack scowled. "Have it your way," he said, and stormed away.

We watched him go. "Do you think that he'll take any rum back to the ship?" I asked.

She sighed. "He'll have to drink it if he does, which is no problem for him. The only issue is that he still needs to drink all the wine."

We passed the rest of the night in the little place we were in, sharing stories. I was amazed at all of the things the three of them had done at such a young age.

"Was there anything that you wanted to tell us, Pandora?" asked Ron, downing the last of his butterbeer.

I wasn't sure what I could tell them. "I'm sorry that I got you all swept up in this mess," I said. "If I hadn't opened that jar, none of this would have happened."

"Now don't you talk like that," said Hermione. "There is no use for feeling guilty over something that you had no control over. You did not know what was in it, or what kind of havoc it may or may not cause once it came out."

"Yeah," said Ron. "For all you knew it was a way to make fire to show up Epimetheus." He shrugged. "There's no point in feeling sorry for us either. This is a cake walk compared to what we had to deal with as kids."

"What's a cake walk?" I asked him.

"A cake walk is something that's very easy," said Harry flatly. "And I very much doubt that this will be very easy, Ron. Pandora and the others have told us what this Master is capable of."

Ron fell silent, but refilled his bottle of butterbeer again with a flick of his wand.

Hermione stood up and grabbed Ron's hand. "Come on, Ron," she said. "Let's find out about room and board for the night. We may need it, and this seems to be the best place to do it. Harry, why don't you and Pandora find our other companions?"

"I'm assuming you don't mean the pirate crew," said Harry, grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "If you come back with them, you're sleeping outside," she said. "Come on, Ron." They went to talk to the man behind the bar. Harry looked over at me.

"So we're off to find Hermes, Ganymede, and Captain Harkness?" he asked. I nodded. "Well," he said, downing the last of his butterbeer and stowing the bottle in his jacket pocket. "We had best get started. There's no telling where they are at the moment, and what kind of attention Hermes is attracting with those wings."

Ten minutes later, we found out exactly the sort of attention they were attracting. They were in a crowded building near the center of the town, and Hermes was hovering above the packed room, with Jack holding out a hat for people to toss coins in.

Harry sighed. "I was afraid of this," he said, and we went over to the Captain.

"Where's Ganymede?" I asked. Jack pointed to a corner. I stretched as much as I could to see through the crowd and could see the demigod getting slightly intimate with a busty woman who was spilling out of her clothes.

"I'll be right back, Harry," I said, and he nodded and began to talk to Jack in a loud and disapproving voice. I went over to Ganymede and pulled him away from his new friend.

"Oh, no, he's mine tonight, dearie," said the woman in a thickly slurred voice. "You can have him when I'm finished!"

Ganymede seemed slightly abashed at the look that I gave him, and he apologized to the woman and said that he must be going. She shrugged and pulled a random man out of the crowd. When I last saw them, she was hugging his face into her chest.

"What are you thinking?" I asked Ganymede. "We really shouldn't be attracting attention like this," I said, gesturing up toward Hermes, who had taken notice of the debate Harry and Jack were having.

"Get down here!" called Ganymede.

Annoyed, Hermes fluttered down near us. "What's wrong?" he asked. "We're just getting a bit of coin for when we need it. Pirates are untrustworthy creatures, but they'll do much for a bit of gold."

"So you've turned into a pirate now?" I asked coldly. He looked ashamed. "You're turning your gift as a god into a party trick. It's like it's something to be exploited to get rich. You're no better than Sparrow. And you," I said, sticking a finger in Jack Harkness' face as Harry hauled him our way. "You're letting, and probably encouraging this, aren't you?"

He shrugged, but didn't meet my eyes. "We could probably use the money. We need Sparrow, but he may not pass the test without a little incentive. This is insurance," he said, shaking the hat. It jingled.

I didn't waste time. I slapped the hat out of his hands, and it and all of the coins in it landed among the crowd of people watching our display.

"Let's go," said Harry, seeing that the point had been made.

The two gods and the demigod followed us out of the building with their heads down.

"What's that smell?" asked Harry when we got outside.

Hermes grimaced. "They wanted to know if I could still fly if my wings got wet, so two of them relieved themselves on my wings," he said.

"They couldn't use rum?" I asked.

Harry shook his head in disgust. "Don't you get it, Pandora?" he asked. "That would be a waste of good rum." He grabbed Hermes and led him and the rest of us to the beach. "Wash yourself off," he said to the messenger god, pointing at the surf. "We're taking lodging for the night, and you will not be showing up smelling like piss."

After a few minutes of Hermes cleaning his wings of the smell, and Jack and Ganymede continuing to avoid our eyes, we finally headed back toward the building that Hermione and Ron had hopefully booked lodgings for us in.

When we arrived, the man at the bar pointed to the stairs without a word, and we trumped up them. Hermes' wings were still damp, so they shook off seawater on each step. I was just glad that they didn't smell anymore.

We got up the stairs and realized that it was just one large room. There were four beds only, and Ron and Hermione had taken the one at the far end. They were already asleep and wrapped in each others' arms. I looked at them and missed Epimetheus, even though he had slept with another woman.

Jack took the bed closest to us, and Hermes and Ganymede took the next one. Harry looked at me awkwardly.

"You can take it," he said, gesturing at the bed next to Ron and Hermione's. "I'll keep watch for a while."

"Don't you need to sleep?" I asked. I wouldn't have minded being wrapped in his arms like Hermione was in Ron's.

He shrugged. "I'll get some later."

I nodded, and went to kiss his cheek. "Thank you," I said. "I'll see you in the morning."

He forced a smile at me, and went to sit in a chair over by the stairs. I laid down and watched him for a while. I hadn't realized before now that I hadn't slept since I had woken up in Cardiff, and hadn't had a proper sleep since Olympus. I drifted off to sleep in moments.


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Fifteen

Captain's Failure and Demigod's Triumph

I woke up groggily to Hermes shaking me.

"Wake up," he said. "Something's wrong."

I shook my head to clear the fuzz away. "What's going on?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure," he said. "But something has happened with Captain Sparrow." He pulled out the book of heirs and turned to Dionysus' page.

Dionysus' face was still in the picture, but the successor's name had disappeared. I looked up at Hermes.

"Where has Jack Sparrow's name gone?" I asked.

He shook his head, and he had a dark look in his eye. "I'm not sure," he said. "But there is something foul about this whole business. We need to get the crew together to go back to the Pearl."

"That shouldn't be too difficult," said Jack Harkness, shrugging on his coat. "They're more than likely passed out around the town. They're drunken lechers, the lot of them."

I gave him a look, and he turned away with a grin.

We shook Ron and Hermione awake. Harry had slept on the floor next to them. I smiled. There was no separating those three, no matter what.

We scoped around for about a half hour, and we ended up finding all of the crew except for Mr. Gibbs. Hermione was not pleased.

"If that old goat took his captain some rum..." she threatened.

We hauled the boats back out to the beach, taking turns carrying them. The pirate crew kept shielding their eyes from the sun like it was painful to look at. I chuckled, recognizing the aftereffects of having been drinking most of the night.

When we reached the Black Pearl, Jack Harkness climbed up first and headed straight to the captain's quarters. He burst through the door with the rest of us close behind.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" asked Ron at the sight.

Mr. Gibbs and Captain Jack Sparrow were passed out back to back with empty bottles of rum laying around them. The barrels of wine were nowhere to be seen. Hermione strode forward and kicked the pair of them in the sides.

"What in blazes are you doing!" shouted Mr. Gibbs. "It's not good to be kicking a person when they're sleeping. It's bad luck!" He turned around and looked at all of us standing over him. "Oh," he said, and turned around to shake Sparrow.

"Rum's gone," muttered Jack in his sleep. "What?!" he cried, and woke up in a start.

"Where is the wine, Captain?" asked Hermione.

He looked immediately guilty, and jerked his thumb behind him. The window was open. Harry and Ganymede rushed to it.

"There's nothing there!" said Harry.

"Of course there's nothing there," said Jack Harkness. "They tossed the barrels overboard and the current took them away."

"You cheated," said Hermes.

"Pirate," said Jack Sparrow, standing up. "Are you really surprised?"

We turned away from him. "So what now?" asked Ron.

Hermione bit her lip. "Obviously we need to find a suitable Dionysus," she said. She turned to Hermes. "What happens if the successor fails the test presented to them?" she asked.

Hermes got out the book and consulted it. "The most suitable candidate among those that are present must be selected and pass the test," he read. He turned back to Jack Sparrow and Mr. Gibbs. "These two are obviously not able to perform the duties that it requires."

"So it's one of us then," said Harry.

Hermes nodded. "Anyone that is not already a god is eligible," he said. "So that leaves Ganymede, Pandora, Harry, and Ron."

"But Ganymede is already a demigod," I said. "Does that count?"

Hermes shook his head. "He could be promoted. And Dionysus was always fond of Ganymede."

"I don't want it," said Harry.

"Don't look at me," said Ron.

Hermes looked at me. I shook my head, and he turned at last to Ganymede.

"Are you willing to perform this test?" he asked.

"I am," he said.

Hermes nodded. "Very well, then," he said. "Mr. Gibbs!"

Gibbs looked up. "Yes?"

"Is there any alcohol left aboard this ship?" asked Hermes.

Gibbs looked around. "There may be a few drops left of rum here, but no more."

Hermione smiled, and used her wand to levitate the remaining drops of rum into one of the bottles. It ended up filling about a quarter of the bottle.

"Cheers," said Ganymede, taking the bottle from her. He drank it in three quick gulps. "It's a good thing I'm a demigod," he said. "My metabolism is fast enough that I don't get drunk."

Instantly, Dionysus' picture disappeared and Ganymede's was now in its place.

"Congratulations!" I said, hugging him.

"Wait a minute," said Captain Jack Sparrow, stumbling towards us. "What about me, and me being able to produce all the rum I wanted, and me crew coming with me?"

Hermione stared him down. "You lost your chance, Captain," she said stiffly. "You want rum, you know where to get it." She nodded towards Tortuga. She looked at Harry and Ron. "Do you think we could side-along Apparate four people?"

"I can only do one at a time," said Ron. Harry nodded his agreement. Hermione smiled.

"Then I'll be the one to take two," she said. "Pandora, Ganymede, if you would each take one of my hands."

I had no idea what she intended to do, or what Apparating was. I clasped her hand anyway. I saw Ganymede grab her other hand, and Harry took Jack Harkness', and Ron held on to Hermes. As one, the three of them turned on the spot. I felt like my navel had a hook in it and was pulling me along, squeezing me through an uncomfortably tight space.

On the other side, we ended up back at our cozy little inn on the edge of Tortuga. Jack was doubled over heaving, as were Ganymede and Hermes.

"I didn't know gods could vomit," said Ron, giggling. Jack shot him a look from his position, and he looked so fierce with stuff hanging out of his mouth, we all had to laugh.

To be honest, my insides were not feeling very good themselves, but I managed to come through okay.


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Sixteen

Aquaman

"Now where are we going?" asked Ganymede once he had recovered.

Hermes pulled out the book and paged through. "We've got three," he muttered. "That leaves five more. We still have to get Ares, Aphrodite, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon."

We all thought for a moment. "Well, we're already near the sea," said Harry logically. "Should we find the successor of Poseidon then?"

"Good thinking, Harry," said Hermione. She looked disappointed that she hadn't thought of it first.

Hermes stopped on the page. "Steve Zissou," he read aloud.

Hermione's eyes lit up. "I've read all about him!" she said. "He's a genius! He's a bit eccentric, I'll grant you, but he's brilliant!"

"Who is Steve Zissou?" asked Ron.

"He's one of the world's foremost oceanographers," said Hermione. "He's produced a couple of documentary films on the subject. They're quite good, they've won several awards, and he's got a few of his own as well."

"So," said Jack, shrugging. "I guess we go after Steve Zissou then."

With some discomfort, we all managed to put our fingers on his name, and were transported to a small house next to a beach. We must have made quite a ruckus when we landed, because there was some language that I couldn't quite understand coming from in the house, though it did sound very annoyed.

"What the..." said a man's voice, and he ran outside. His clothing was the oddest I'd seen yet. He was wearing a red outfit that went over his entire body except his hands, feet, and head. His face was scruffy with a little bit of a beard, and he wore a hat on his head that looked like it was meant to keep him warm, though it was already warm where we were. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my beach?"

Jack was the first to collect himself and walked over to him with a hand extended. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, but you can call me Zeus," he said.

The man laughed in his face, and Jack leaned away from what was apparently a case of bad breath. "If you're Zeus, then I'm Poseidon," he said, cackling madly.

"Are you Steve Zissou?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Yeah," Steve Zissou said, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. "Who wants to know?"

Hermes stepped forward. "You said that if he was Zeus, then you were Poseidon," he said. "As a matter of fact, you're exactly correct in that, Mr. Zissou." He unfurled his wings from his legs and flapped up to land on the roof of the house. "I am Hermes."

Steve Zissou blinked twice like an owl. "Well, I'll be damned," he said. He looked around at us all. "Maybe you should all come inside."

We followed him into the house. I was surprised, because there were tanks filled with water and contained strange creatures all around the house.

"How will we all fit in here?" asked Ron as he stepped inside.

Zissou was busying himself in a corner, apparently feeding one of the creatures. Then he bent down and pulled open a metal hatch. "Shall we?" he said, and lowered himself down.

We looked at each other nervously. I was not about to let this strange man scare me after all I had seen. I went down the ladder right above him, and the others followed me.

It was breathtakingly dark below the house. I could not see Steve Zissou anywhere, but he clapped twice a few feet away from me, and light suddenly came into view all around us as Harry descended the ladder last.

"Whoa," said Ron. "This place is wicked."

"Do you like it?" asked Steve Zissou.

It was like the house above us in that there were tanks filled with water with all sorts of strange creatures all around us, only these tanks and the creatures in them were much larger. The room itself was huge. I turned around and saw what looked like the biggest tank of all, but then I realized I was looking through a glass wall at the ocean itself.

"This is incredible," said Hermione, going up to one of the tanks and tapping on the glass. The creature inside changed colours from orange to green, and then to purple with each tap. "Did you build this?"

"This is my research lab," said Steve Zissou. "I observe these creatures in an environment that I designed to replicate their own natural habitat as closely as possible. And this, of course, allows me to observe the habitat that is as natural as it gets." He gestured to the glass wall of the ocean.

As we watched, a few large fish with triangular fins on their backs swam by. There were small slits on their sides right behind their eyes, and their lower jaw was set far back from their upper one.

"The last time I saw a shark was when Viktor Krum tried to turn himself into one," muttered Harry. He stepped close to the glass, and one of the sharks turned suddenly and swam quickly towards the glass. Harry jumped back as it slammed against it.

"Don't worry," said Zissou. "Bigger ones than him have tried to ram the glass, and it's still held."

I shuddered to think of what would happen if the glass didn't hold.

"Now," said Zissou, sitting down at a table that he had put more chairs around so we could all sit. "What is all this about?"

Hermes went into the full explanation of everything that had happened. Zissou sat in his chair and said nothing the entire time, but he nodded here and there.

"Okay," he said when it was all said and done. "So what's my test?" He took the book from Hermes and read from it. "The heir of Poseidon must become truly one with and understand the sea and all life within it," he said. "Well, that shouldn't be too difficult," he said. "I've been dealing with the sea and all of the life within it for my entire life."

Suddenly, we heard a ringing sound coming from Zissou's house up the ladder.

"Excuse me," he said. "I need to get that."

He raced up the ladder and the ringing stopped. I wasn't sure what it was, but at the moment I didn't care. The man seemed to be interested in helping us, and was surprisingly accepting of the strange circumstances. The rest of us wandered around the large room to see the different creatures.

After a few minutes, Zissou descended the ladder slowly. He looked at us with dead eyes.

"What's happened?" I asked worriedly.

"A very dear friend of mine just got eaten by a shark," he said. "Not like the ones that just swam by either. This shark was a monster, and my friend's been after this shark his whole life." His voice was flat, and it sounded like he didn't even care that his friend had just died, but I knew better. I had spoken the same way when my parents had died.

"What are you going to do?" asked Hermes.

He looked at us with those dead eyes and stated simply, "I'm going to destroy it."

The adventures that followed that statement have been documented in the motion picture _The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou_. I will not go into great detail about it, but the end result was that Steve Zissou and his team found the shark, and he ended up letting it go. That was the moment where truly came to be one with and understand the sea and all the life in it. We met him back at his house by the beach, and his picture was now in the place of Poseidon's.

"Should I feel different?" asked Zissou in a deadpan, looking at his hands. "Because I don't."

Hermes smiled at him and picked up a glass from the table. "Could I have some water, please?"

"Oh, sure," said Zissou, and held his hand over the glass. We watched as water came out of it and poured into the glass.

"Thank you," said Hermes, taking a sip.

"No problem," said Zissou. "Wait, what just happened?"

We all laughed and Jack stood up. "Poseidon, are you ready to come with us?"

He shrugged. "I get to come back and visit here, right?" he asked. "I mean, somebody has to feed these guys."

"Of course," said Hermes, standing up and replacing the glass on the table. "You can select someone to take care of it."

Zissou looked out into the ocean. "I think I know just the person," he said.

About an hour later, we said goodbye to his friend who he had chosen to take over the lab, and just happened to be wearing the exact same outfit, and lived a short walk away.

"Now how does this work?" asked Zissou. "Because there are a lot of us, and we now all have touch this name in the book. Can we make a tight enough circle, especially once we get the rest of the gods?"

I shrugged. "What about that Apparition thing?" I asked Hermione. "Would that work, with you holding on to someone to carry them along?"

She thought for a moment. "To me, this feels more like a portkey than Apparating," she said. "How can we test it?"

"I have an idea," said Ron. "Captain Harkness, you stand over there by the shore." Jack obliged. "Okay, now Pandora, you hold my hand and touch Jack's picture in the book."

We took a deep breath, and everyone stepped away from us to give us room. I clasped his hand and touched the picture. Instantly I felt the same sensation, and both Ron and I were standing right next to Jack.

"Woo hoo!" whooped Harry. Hermione rushed over to us.

"Oh, Ron," she said to him. "That was brilliant!"

"Always the tone of surprise," he said, blushing. "Where to next, then?" he asked as the rest of the group gathered around.

"Let's get Aphrodite," said Hermes. "Just go through the book from this point on."

When we were all agreed, we all touched the name of Helen of Troy.


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Seventeen

Breaking into Troy

We arrived in what seemed to me to be a very familiar landscape.

"Oh my gods!" I shouted. "We're in Greece!"

Hermione shook her head. "We're by the Mediterranean, yes," she said. "But this is actually Troy. The Greeks will go to war with Troy for about ten years sometime in your future. Helen of Troy is supposed to be the one that started the war."

I was confused. "Did she kill someone that was Greek?"

Jack shook his head. "No, she was actually Greek," he said. "One of the royal men of Troy fell in love with her and brought her here. This angered her father, and he was a very powerful man. They say that Helen of Troy has the face that launched a thousand ships."

I was surprised. "Was she that beautiful?" I asked.

Hermes sighed. "If Aphrodite chose her, then she is absolutely that beautiful."

"Wait," said Harry. "Did we actually come here in the middle of the Trojan War?"

"Let's go into the city," said Hermione, pointing.

The city itself was larger than Tortuga, but seemed to be much smaller than Cardiff.

"Um," said Zissou. "I hate to be a spoilsport here, but if they're preparing for war in that city, how likely are they to actually let a bunch of strangers in?"

This stumped us for a bit. How exactly were we going to get in?

"What if we did what the Greeks are going to do when they get here?" asked Ron.

"You mean lay siege to the city for ten years?" asked Harry. "Thanks, but seven years of war is enough for me."

"No," said Ron. "The Trojan Horse!"

"Absolutely not," said Jack at once.

"Why not?" asked Ron. "It worked for them!"

"It worked for them because the Trojans weren't expecting it," said Jack patiently. "It would work for us too, and for the same reason."

"So what's the big deal?" asked Ron indignantly.

"Look, Gingy," said Jack, ignoring the fact that Ron's ears turned red. "I've traveled through time before with the best in the business, and I've learned a bit about fixed points in time."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"I mean that some things are meant to happen," said Jack. "They have to happen, and can't happen any other way." He pointed to the city. "What happens here is fixed. There was only one horse. If there was another one before, the Trojans wouldn't have fallen for the second one."

"Besides, Ron," interjected Hermione. "How could we build a great wooden horse? We couldn't just conjure one up, and even with magic, it would take too long to build it."

"Wait," said Harry, hitting himself in the forehead. "Are we wizards or not?"

"Yeah," said Ron slowly. "What is your point?"

Harry sighed and turned on the spot. He disappeared and reappeared behind Ron.

Ron scowled. "You could have just said it, Harry," he said. "Can you side along Apparate two at a time?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "I've never done it before, but I'm sure the principle is the same."

Hermes spoke up. "If there some doubt about it, I could wait here for one of you to come back for me."

"Not by yourself," said Ganymede. "I will stay with you."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and shrugged. "So just one at a time," he said.

"There's one problem with that plan," said Hermione.

"What's that?" asked Ron.

"What are the three D's?" she asked.

"Destination, determination, and deliberation," the two wizards recited.

Harry smacked himself in the forehead. "Damn, I forgot," he said.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"You have to know exactly where you're going to Apparate," said Ron. "Have a clear picture in your mind and all that. We were able to do it on Tortuga because we had already been at that place."

"I have a suggestion," said Hermes, unfurling his wings.

So it was that two minutes later, Hermes was carrying Hermione up into the air, her wand at the ready in case arrows came their way. The plan was for Hermione to spot a secluded area just inside the wall of the city so she could have a clear picture in her mind to Apparate to. Then she would Apparate with Harry and Ron so they would get a picture of it as well. Then the three of them would come back and take Jack, Zissou, and myself to the spot, and then Hermione and Harry would go back to get Hermes and Ganymede.

It was a good plan. It was sure to go off without a hitch.

For the most part, the first part of the plan did go off without a hitch. Hermes carried Hermione up almost higher than we could see, and we couldn't hear any cries from within the city.

When they came back down, Hermione rubbed her shoulder a bit as she detailed the place she saw. "It was a spot about three hundred yards to the right," she said, pointing in the direction. "Nobody was near it, and it was hidden behind a house."

"Were there any windows on the house?" asked Ron.

"None that we could see," said Hermione. She reached out and took Ron's hand with her left, and Harry's with her right. She turned on the spot and they vanished. A few moments later, they reappeared.

"Well?" asked Jack.

"She's right," said Ron. "There's nobody around. The spot is very well hidden. Someone would have to be right on top of us to see us."

Jack nodded. "Well then, let's not waste any more time," he said. He took Hermione's hand, Ron held onto Steve Zissou's, and Harry took mine. His grip was firm, but not painfully so.

I took a look at Hermes and Ganymede. "See you in a moment," I said, smiling. Ganymede winked.

We turned on the spot, and appeared in the place Hermione and Ron had described. I looked around, and couldn't see anyone nearby.

"We'll be back in just a second," said Hermione, and she and Harry popped out of sight.

Ron took out his wand at the same time that Jack took out his gun.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Ron shook his head. "Something doesn't feel right," he said in a whisper. "You feel it too?" he asked Jack.

Jack nodded. "Get behind me," he said to me. He and Ron flanked Zissou and I so that we were protected from both sides.

A moment later, Hermione and Harry appeared with Ganymede and Hermes. In a second, they had their wands out as well.

"What's happening?" asked Harry sharply.

"We're not sure yet," said Jack. "Keep your voice down, will you?"

In the next moment, several things happened at once. Ganymede looked up and let out a cry. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all trained their wands in that direction and let off red jets of light. I was shoved to the side, getting the wind knocked out of me when I landed on the ground. I heard two separate thunks. One was close, the other was farther away and louder.

Wheezing, I clutched my side and stood up. The action had stopped just as quickly as it had started. "What just happened?" I asked Zissou.

He didn't say anything, but pointed to where I had been standing just a moment ago. His face was pale.

I looked down and my heart stopped. Ganymede was lying there with an arrow in his throat. He was trying to gasp for air, but blood was pouring out of the wound. Even as a god, I knew he wouldn't last long.

I looked to the others for help. I could help to repair minor injuries, but this was beyond my skills to heal.

Hermione rushed over and reached into her bag. "Accio Dittany," she said, and a small bottle shot up and landed in her hand. She took the top off and squeezed several drops on the wound, but Jack pulled her away.

"It's too late," he said. "He's gone."

And he was right. Even as we watched, the flow of blood slowed and stopped, and the life went from his eyes.

"He pushed you out of the way," said Zissou. "The arrow was meant for you, but he took it instead."

My vision blurred, and I reached up to wipe my face. "Who shot it?" I asked. Harry took my hand and led me over to where I had heard the other thunk come from. Laying on the ground there was a man, presumably a Trojan soldier. He was unconscious.

"We stunned him," said Ron thickly. "It was too late."

I nodded at him. They had done their best. We had captured this one soldier. Maybe we could get him to help us with a little persuasion.

"Don't worry," said Jack. "We'll make sure that he pays for what he did."

"No," I said, holding up a hand to stop him. "We must make him help us to repent for this sin."

"Well, it had better be quick, because I'm sure he had friends," said Ron. "Let's get him out of here first, and Ganymede too. We don't want anything arousing suspicion."

"What about the blood?" asked Zissou. He was still looking very pale.

Hermione waved her wand. "Tergeo," she said, and the blood cleaned itself away from the ground around where Ganymede lay. Jack bent over and picked up Ganymede and threw him over his shoulder. Ron hauled the soldier over his own, and we ran around the house. There was nobody coming yet, but Ron was right. There was no way that nobody heard the ruckus that had just happened.

"Quick," said Harry. "Let's go in here, it's empty."

We rushed inside the house that he was holding the door open of, and he shut it behind us. "Colloportus," he said, and the door seemed to seal itself shut.

Jack lay Ganymede on a mat in the corner of the room and closed his eyes. I turned away. He had sacrificed himself to save me. It was too painful to think about right now. I turned instead to the soldier that Ron had sat up against the opposite wall. "Wake him up," I said to Ron.

Harry and Hermione kept watch on the door and windows while Ron pointed his wand at the soldier. "Ennervate," he said.

The soldier shook himself a bit before blinking and becoming alert. He looked around at us. "Who are you and what harm do you intend our princes?"

"I will be the one to ask the questions," I said. "Who are you?"

He stared at me defiantly. "I do not answer to a woman," he said.

I nodded at Ron, and he shot a spell at the man that caused a stinging welt to rise on the side of his cheek.

"He does," I said. "Would you like to see what I will ask of him next?"

The man continued to stare at me grimly. "I saw you appear behind this house," he said. "Black magic, I think it was, that enabled you to enter the city."

"It was magic, all right," said Jack. "But no blacker than killing someone in cold blood."

The man smiled darkly. "Oh, do you mean your friend?" he said, nodding up at the table on which he could see Ganymede lying on. "I wasn't aiming for him."

My lip curled in disgust. "No, sir," I said. "You were aiming for me. My friend was noble enough to push me out of the way and take the arrow himself. Can you say you would do the same for any of your people in this city?"

"I would die for the sake of my princes," he said.

"And why do you think your princes need to be defended so violently?" asked Hermes softly, turning to us for the first time.

The soldier scoffed. "You are Greek," he said. "You know why I defend my princes, and why your people are coming here to take back what left of its own free will!"

"You mean Helen," said Jack.

The soldier smirked. "See," he said. "You do know. Where are your commanding Greeks? Are they out in the sea, waiting for you to report back with our fortifications?"

I shrugged. "You seem to know all about us," I said. "You tell me where they are." He was silent. "I see," I said. "You don't actually know. Well, for your information, we come here separate from the main Greek force, and for our own purposes, that do not coincide with theirs."

The soldier scowled. "You can not lie to me," he said. "I can read through you like a book."

Ron covered up a laugh. "Can you even read, mate?" he asked, still training his wand on the soldier.

"No," said the man after a short pause. "However, I do know that you are lying. Or at the very least you are holding back the full truth."

"Believe me," said Jack. "If we told you the full truth, you would not believe us for a second."

He looked around at us, and sighed. "My name is Marco," he said. "I protect my princes with my life. I can see that you do not intend to harm my princes." He narrowed his eyes. "So what are you doing here?"

"My name is Zeus," said Jack. "This is Hermes, and Athena is over there by the door," he said, indicating Hermione. "We need to find Aphrodite."

"I do not believe you," said Marco. "The gods would not come down from Olympus, even if they were real. We Trojans do not hold to your Greek religion."

In answer, Jack sent a small bolt of lightning that impacted the wall right next to Marco's ear. Marco winced and peeked out through the slits of his eyelids.

"Like I said," said Jack. "We need to find Aphrodite. She is in your city, and it is our intent to retrieve her. It has already cost us one of our own, but we do not mean to quit."

The man blinked. "So that man that took my arrow was a god?" he asked. "Gods can be killed?"

"Yes," said Hermes. "This is why it is imperative that we retrieve Aphrodite. Do you understand?"

"I'm not helping you find Aphrodite," said Marco. "I do not care who she is or who you are."

I looked at Steve and nodded at him. He held his hands up and shot two separate jets of water at Marco, hitting him directly in the face. He kept that up for about ten seconds before I waved him down.

Marco wiped his face, spluttering. "You know, you're really not helping your cause by torturing me," he said.

"You will get much worse when the Greeks come," said Jack, getting very close to Marco's face and speaking in almost a whisper. "I know, I've seen it."

"Are you really Zeus?" breathed Marco. Jack nodded, and Marco sighed. He wiped the water that was still dripping down his face. "All right," he said. "I will help you. Where is Aphrodite?"

"She is the one called Helen," said Hermes. "We must bring her back to Olympus."

"My prince would never allow it," said Marco instantly. "Prince Paris has fallen madly in love with her, and she with him. He will not allow her to leave."

"You've been fighting for near ten years, yes?" asked Jack.

Marco nodded. "It has been hell."

"I've been there," said Jack. "You know nothing of the word hell. What's coming for you will be far worse than what you've experienced."

"The Greeks will attack soon," said Hermione, moving towards us. "When they come, you will not know it until it is too late. We can save you."

"I will die for my princes," he said again.

"Do you have a family?" I asked softly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it right away. I had struck a chord within him. "Yes," he said just as softly. "Can you save them at least?"

"Help us," said Jack. "And we will."

It took a moment's decision, but Marco eventually nodded. "I will help you," he said. "You must help me in return."


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Eighteen

The Horse

We began to plan our next move, but not before Marco stood up and went over to where Ganymede lay. He knelt down next to the table and began to pray.

"I thought you didn't hold to our religion," said Jack.

Without turning around, Marco replied, "Just because I do not hold to it, does not mean I do not respect it. I must also atone for my actions."

I was about to say something about him having a very interesting way of showing respect, but Hermes held me back.

"Let him be," he whispered. "He will help us."

After a moment, Marco stood up and kissed Ganymede's brow. I felt slightly disturbed at the thought of kissing a corpse, especially since he was the one that had killed him. I then thought that he might have just been performing his tradition of sending people to the Underworld.

Feeling a swell of emotion, I went and took Marco's hand.

"I am sorry," he said after a moment. "I can not change what I have done, but I will make things right." He let go of my hand and moved back.

I moved forward and kissed Ganymede's brow as Marco had done. The others followed in the same way.

"He gave his life to protect me," I said. "We will not let that death be in vain."

Jack raised his hand. "Since he had been chosen to be Dionysus, which means the position is open. What are the procedures if the god had not chosen a successor?"

"The procedure would be the same as if the successor had failed the succession test," said Hermes. "We will choose from those among us that are eligible." He looked at Harry, Ron, Marco, and me.

"I will not put myself forward for this," said Marco. "I do not deserve to be a god."

Harry shook his head. "It's not for me," he said.

"I don't think I could do it either," I said.

We all looked at Ron. "I don't know," he said. "Am I really the only choice left?"

Hermes nodded. "A god can not be two gods," he said. "You are the only one eligible to be Dionysus."

Harry grinned at Ron. "I'm sure you could throw a pretty good party if you wanted to, mate," he said. "You could do it even without the god powers."

Ron blushed. "I learned from my brothers," he said. "They were the best." He took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll do it."

Hermes smiled and inclined his head. "Let us find whatever alcohol we can in this household," he said.

We all searched around, and eventually Hermione found a bottle of honeyed wine. She handed it to him reluctantly.

"Cheers," he said softly to her, and kissed her. She smiled into his lips.

"Okay, you daft ginger," she said. "Get to drinking."

He grinned at her and turned the bottle up. Before the wine had gotten to his lips, we heard several loud booms. Ron took the bottle away. "What the bloody hell was that?" he asked.

Marco looked at us. "It is the Greeks," he said. "They are issuing a challenge." He took off out of the house, pausing at the door only to tell us to stay there, and that he would be back.

While we waited for him to return, Ron slowly finished the bottle of honeyed wine, and got a little bit drunker with each sip.

When he had finally finished it, he was grinning like an idiot and trying to snuggle up to Hermione and fall asleep in her lap. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but fondly brushed the hair out of his eyes as he snoozed.

About an hour later, Marco returned. He was downcast.

"What happened?" asked Jack.

He looked up, and there was a deadness in his eyes. "Hector is dead," he said. "My prince is dead, due to the foolishness of his younger brother."

"Paris?" asked Hermione. "What did he do?"

Marco scowled. "He challenged Helen's father, and Hector ended up taking up the cause. He was killed in single combat by Achilles."

Hermione took a sharp breath in through her mouth.

Marco nodded. "It is a sad day for Troy," he said. "We will make the Greeks suffer for this insult and crime!"

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Please don't forget, Marco," I said. "We need to get your family out of here, or terrible things will befall them when the Greeks enter the city."

"They can not enter the city," he said proudly. "It is too well defended. You only managed through your sorcery."

"But there's still the - " started Ron, but Jack shut him up with a look.

Marco didn't notice. "I shall trust you," he said. "I will accept your help in getting my family out of the city, and then I will help you find Aphrodite. Perhaps then we can end this war. Come with me."

We followed him out of the house, and Harry sealed the door so nobody could enter. We would give Ganymede a proper burial on Olympus when we could.

Upon arriving at Marco's home, we gave his wife and son a great surprise. "Don't worry about them," he said. "You must leave the city at once. The Greeks are here and they mean to kill everyone. Go!"

They didn't wait or take even a second glance at us. They gathered a few things and left. I didn't know how they would leave the city if it was under siege all around it by the Greeks.

"Now let us go to the palace," said Marco. "I mean to have a word with Prince Paris about letting his brother die for him." There was a fierce look in his eye.

"We can't worry about that right now," said Jack. "I'm sorry about Hector, Marco, but we have to complete our mission."

Marco opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment we heard two loud booms. He shut his mouth and looked very confused.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"It means that the Greeks are retreating," he said. "Why would they do that?" The people from the future shared a knowing look, but Marco was completely unaware of the exchange. "I'm going to see what is going on."

He rushed out of his house, and Ron amused himself by drinking from a fountain of wine that came out of his palm. Hermione looked at him crossly.

"What?" he asked. "I may as well have a drink if I can do this and the Trojans are about to receive a gift!"

Steve Zissou amused himself by shooting a jet of water at Ron's face, and we all laughed at that.

Marco chose that moment to come rushing back into the house. "Yes, it is a joyous thing indeed!" he cried. "The Greeks have gone, and they have left us a wonderful gift!"

"What did they leave?" asked Harry in an attempt to be serious.

Marco spread his arms wide. "It is a massive wooden horse!" he said happily. "They are looking for volunteers to help pull it on ropes into the city. Will you come?"

Jack shook his head. "We really do have to get to the palace, and it is more important than ever to get there now," he said. "I know you don't understand, but that's okay. You will."

Marco smiled and rushed off.

"Do you think he's going to come back and help us at the palace?" asked Zissou.

Jack shrugged. "Who can say?" he said. "He is a soldier, and his duty is to his city and his prince. When the Greeks exit that horse, his people will need him. I believe that he will make his way to the palace in order to protect Paris."

"We need to get there first then," said Harry.

Jack nodded and led us out, and up winding paths to the highest point in the city where the palace lay.

"Where do you suppose Helen is?" I asked.

Jack shrugged. "I could ask this handmaiden," he said, nodding at a scantily clad woman carrying a bowl of water. "She might tell me all sorts of things."

"Just where Helen is, thank you, Captain," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

Jack grinned at her and approached the handmaiden. We couldn't hear the conversation, but the girl seemed very surprised by Jack's clothing and his manner, especially when he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at that though and whispered something in his ear. He must have said something to that, because she laughed loud enough for us to hear and ran off.

Jack turned back to us and grinned. We cautiously went out to him. "Did you find out where Helen is?" asked Zissou. "Or did you just get her phone number?"

Harry and Hermione laughed, but Hermes and Ron just looked confused. I didn't know what that was about, but I assumed it was something to do with the future.

Jack grinned at Zissou. "She's in the back of the palace," he said. "Helen is. Paris is nowhere around. He's gone to accept the gift of the horse." He chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"I bet I know," said Ron. "Something about you and horses sharing a certain similarity, Captain?"

Jack laughed. "I like you, kid," he said. "I'm glad you'll be throwing the parties on Olympus."

It was close to nighttime, so we knew we only had hours before the Greeks burst out of the horse to attack the city. We waited until it was dark before we headed to the back of the palace.

As we neared the room where Jack said the handmaiden had told him Helen would be in, we heard shouts.

"It's starting," said Hermione. "We have to hurry."

The plan was to have me go in to talk to Helen, since I was the one dressed in Greek clothing. I would briefly explain the situation to her, and then introduce the rest of the group to come in, one by one.

I walked in, and there she was, lying on the bed. It looked very luxurious. It was much more so than the mat I had back home, and looked more comfortable than any other bed I had seen on my travels, even when I had been on Olympus.

"I hope you get to bring that with you," I said. "But Jack is very understanding, so I'm sure he would let you."

She jumped at my voice. It looked like she was about to scream, but she stopped herself.

"Who are you?" she asked. "You are no Trojan, not in those clothes. Nor can you be Greek, because they would not be able to enter the city. Least of all would they allow a woman to sail with them."

"I am Greek," I said. "And we haven't much time. The Greeks are here, and they mean to sack the city."

She sat up and looked at me seriously. "My name is Helen, Princess of Troy," she said. "I politely asked you who you were, and now I am ordering you tell me who you are."

I inclined my head. "Your Majesty," I said. "My name is Pandora, and I am telling you that we need your help. You have been chosen."

"Chosen for what?" she asked.

I explained to her as quickly as I could the situation back on Olympus, and that Aphrodite had selected her as her successor. At this she laughed.

"Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, has chosen me to succeed her?" she asked. "Please, jester, jest once more for me!"

I scowled. "I can prove it," I said. "I have several gods here with me that can vouch for me. Hermes!"

Hermes came in, bearing the book of successors. He opened to Aphrodite's page, and pointed Helen's own name out to her.

"But this can't be true," said Helen. "How do I know that this has not been fabricated?"

So I called the others in. I left Harry for last, and felt bad for it since he was not a god. Each of them attested to the fact that they each had been chosen, and Hermes showed Helen their pages.

The shouts were growing louder this whole time.

"Please, Helen," I said. "You must trust us, and you must come with us. The Greeks may not be satisfied with taking you back to Greece. They may decide simply to kill you and save themselves the trouble!"

She laughed again. "The Greeks can not enter this city!" she crowed. "It is too well defended. And they have retreated and left behind the great wooden horse."

Jack took Helen's arm and led her to the window. Fire was springing up around the city. "Look at that," he said. "Listen to the screams. Is Troy always like this at night? If so, sign me up on the first train out of here."

Helen opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated. It was at that moment that a man burst into the room. "Paris!" she cried.

"Helen," he said. "Who are these people with you?"

She started to answer, but Jack interrupted her by stepping briskly up to Paris and punching him in the mouth. "You deserve that," he said as Paris fell to the ground. He turned back to Helen. "Now can we get out of here?" he asked.

Helen looked at Paris. "But what is my test?" she asked.

Hermes looked at Aphrodite's page. "You must show an act of true love in order to truly be Aphrodite," he read. "Do you love this man?" he asked.

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

"Good," said Hermes. "Then he is coming with us."

Jack bent over and picked up the unconscious Paris and threw him over his shoulder. "Let's go," he said. "Or, as an old friend of mine would say," he added, grinning cheekily, "Allons-y!"

We hurried after him, and Helen stopped us. "There is a passage out of the city behind the palace," she said. "It is secret, and several miles long. It comes out several miles south of here."

"Lead the way," said Hermes.

So it was that Helen of Troy led us through the palace grounds, followed closely by Captain Jack Harkness with Paris thrown over his shoulder. Hermes was behind Jack, and I followed Hermes with Hermione by my side. Behind was Steve Zissou, and Harry and Ron brought up the rear. They each had their wands out in case someone came behind us and attacked.

"Where are you taking my prince?" a familiar voice cried as we entered a corridor.

We stopped and turned. It was Marco. He rushed at us and went into what I was sure was a long winded speech about duty and how he would die for his prince before anything happened to him, but Ron shut him up quickly with a sharp jet of wine from his hand.

"We're saving your precious prince," he said. "If you're going to help, then stop slowing us down and come on."

Marco nodded grimly and drew his sword. He went up just behind Helen with his sword drawn. "Lead the way, Your Highness," he said.

She ran off with all of us following. A few moments later, we were all treated with a very annoying shout.

"What are you doing?" asked Paris. "Where are we going and why are you carrying me?"

"Can I knock him out again?" asked Jack, setting Paris down so he could run alongside. Paris grabbed a bow and quiver from a side room before joining our sprint to the passage.

We did not meet anyone else for a while, although the shouts were louder with every step we took. Helen saw the passage ahead and made for it.

She hadn't gone twenty steps when a massive figure stepped out of the shadows. I didn't know who it was, but it appeared to be a Greek champion. This might have been the Achilles that Marco had spoken of before.

Marco recognized him at once and charged him, sword held high and screaming. He fell with one stroke of Achilles' sword. Then, inexplicably, Achilles fell to the ground too.

I was confused. Marco had not even been able to strike him. But then I realized what had happened.

Paris had moved to the side and drawn his bow. He had shot Achilles and struck him in the heel.

The rest of us didn't take much time then to contemplate the significance of what had just happened. We just ran on past the two bodies. Nobody even stopped to kiss them on the brows to send them to the Underworld.

We were about to enter the passage when I remembered. "Wait, what about Ganymede?"

Jack grabbed me and pulled me along. "The city is a bonfire," he said harshly. "He's gone, and has been given all the burial he is going to get."

I wept openly. Ganymede had been with me since the beginning of my adventure and now he was gone. Yes, he had died before Troy had been sacked, but now it truly felt like he was really gone. Hermione had tears in her eyes as well, and she clutched my hand as we ran.

After a while, we stopped running. Panting, we all leaned against the side of the passage. Our faces flickered in the torchlight. That was odd. I hadn't remembered torches being at the entrance.

"Okay," said Helen. "We've escaped Troy, with my love. Am I Aphrodite yet?"

Hermes consulted the book. He looked puzzled for a moment, but then set his face. "Yes," he said, and promptly shut the book. "Congratulations."

He turned to the rest of us. "I don't know about you, but I am in the mood to find Ares right now," he said. "Who's with me?"

I watched him closely. Something was off about how he had answered her question. I wasn't sure if he was lying or telling the truth, but he did not seem to be thrilled with her being Aphrodite.

Nobody argued with him, however, and we all held hands as Hermes touched the name in the book. I didn't know who this Sun Tzu was, but I sincerely hoped that he would be able to help us more than Helen seemed to be.


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Nineteen

The Art of War

"Where are we?" asked Helen when we had arrived.

"Ancient China," said Hermione. "Around 500 BC by my reckoning."

"What do you mean by BC?" asked Paris.

"Never mind," she said. "I have always wanted to visit China, though I suppose I never expected to visit it two thousand five hundred years ago."

"You speak so strangely," said Paris. "Please tell me what is going on."

"Who wants to take this one?" asked Ron.

Nobody raised their hand, so he sighed and explained a little bit about everything that had happened. I interjected a few times to add some details and context.

When Ron had finished, Paris looked at me with something that felt very much like hate or disgust. "All you Greeks are alike," he said. "You create nothing but trouble, and nothing but ash and devastation is left in your wake."

Helen looked at him with hurt. "Paris," she said. "You do realize that I am Greek, right?"

Paris instantly looked ashamed of what he had said. "I am sorry, Helen," he said. "But you have to admit that even you were not happy there. That is why you came to live with me in Troy." Then his face darkened. "And now my brother is dead. It was all because of you that Greek Achilles killed him." There was a manic gleam in his eyes now. "I took my revenge on Achilles. Now I will take my revenge on you!"

With that declaration, he leaped towards Helen. "You killed my brother!" he yelled.

Before he could touch her, three flashes went off, and he fell to the ground, unconscious, and he had some boils sprouting all over his face. I looked around to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione all with their wands out.

"Ugh," said Helen in disgust. "He's hideous." She looked up. "How could I love someone so ugly?"

Hermes sighed. "I knew this would happen," he said. "I am sorry, Helen, but you are not worthy to be Aphrodite."

Her eyes flashed. "What do you mean, I'm not worthy to be Aphrodite?" she shrieked.

"The test was to perform an act of true love," he said. "You brought him along, thinking that you loved him. But now he has those boils, which are easily removed by the way," he said, eyeing Ron. "And you can't even stand to look at him. That, my dear, is not love."

Ron grinned sheepishly and shot a quick spell at Paris to take away the boils. The boils were gone, but he stayed unconscious.

"What have you done to him?" cried Helen. She leapt at Ron, and two flashes from Harry's and Hermione's wands later, she was on the ground at Ron's feet.

Harry was looking furious for some reason, and I couldn't explain it, but I was getting angry too. The others did not seem to be angry, and this only angered me even more.

Hermione must have noticed something was off with us, because she asked, "What's wrong, Harry? Pandora, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, bitch," I said with a snarl. "What do you care?"

Hermione jerked back as though I had slapped her. And then she jerked back again and grabbed her head. "Oh!" she cried. "I know what it is!"

"What's gotten into them?" asked Zissou.

"Wrath!" she said happily.

Harry scowled. "Why are you so thrilled about that, idiot?" he asked her. "I should kick your ass for being so bloody giddy."

Hermione shot a quick stunner at Harry to calm him down, and now he was on the ground along with Paris and Helen.

I looked at Hermes. "You knew that something was wrong back in Troy!" I yelled at him. "You knew she hadn't really passed the test, but you let them come anyway! What the hell were you thinking?"

"We had to get out of there," said Hermes, sighing. "They would have grabbed onto us to get out of there anyway, if I had told them the truth. Or they could have done even worse."

I scowled. Hermes was really making me angry. What made me even angrier was that I couldn't explain what was making me so angry. Hermione had said Wrath, but I didn't know what that had to do with anything.

"I'm sorry, Pandora," said Hermione. "But seeing as you're the only one still affected, I have to stun you. It won't hurt, but you'll be unconscious until we wake you up and we've figured this out."

A flash of light later, and everything went dark.

Hermione looked up from Pandora's form on the ground and spoke. "This is the effect from one of the Master's duplicates," she said. "Remember that Pandora said that he turned each of the gods into physical manifestations of his vices. The vices, if you remember, are Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, Greed, and Wrath."

"So you think that one of them is here in ancient China?" asked Jack. "You think Wrath is here, nearby, and that's why that emotion has taken control of the mortals?"

Hermione nodded. "The gods knew that they had chosen successors, so even though their whole self was sucked out when the Master touched them, and replaced the vices, they may have had some recollection of the fact that they had successors, and been able to look into it. If nothing else, then another god noticed Athena gone, and asked about where she went, or where her successor is."

"Wait, hold on a second," said Jack. "Wrath used to be Ares, right?" Hermes nodded, and he went on. "So Wrath figured out that his former self had a successor, and that successor was here in ancient China." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "The homunculi must have some way to travel through time. That's the only explanation for Wrath being able to come here and now."

"So what are you saying?" asked Ron. "That Wrath wants to stop this Sun Tzu bloke from becoming the new Ares? What will that accomplish?"

"The way I see it," said Hermione, "is that the homunculi have control of Olympus right now. If we go back to Olympus with a full force of the reestablished gods, especially with a master of war like Sun Tzu, they won't stand a chance against us."

"That's why Wrath is here then," said Jack. "To kill Sun Tzu, or at least keep him from passing the test to become Ares."

"My money's on killing him," said Ron. "I reckon he won't be in a mood to just stop him."

Steve nodded. "And if they figure out we've gotten the other successors, they'll be out for blood."

They all froze as they heard a voice.

"Lay down your weapons and you will be spared!" it said in a commanding tone.

The gods all looked at Jack. He nodded slowly, and laid his own gun on the ground gently. Ron and Hermione followed suit with their wands.

"Turn around with your hands up," said the voice.

"What is this guy, a police officer?" muttered Jack, but he did as he was told to face the newcomer with his fellows.

Hermione's eyes went wide when she saw who had gotten the drop on them. His eyes narrowed at her expression.

"You seem to know who I am, woman," Sun Tzu said, pointing the tip of his sword at them. "Yet you are not from here, nor are any of your companions. Tell me who you are and where you hail from." He had come closer while he spoke, still holding them at bay with his sword. He knelt down next to the four that lay on the ground. "And tell me what you have done to these, if you will, as well as how you seem to know me."

Hermione cleared her throat nervously. That was a lot to tell. "Please, sir," she said. "You are Sun Tzu, aren't you?"

Sun Tzu smirked. "We have already established that you know who I am," he said. "Thank you for confirming that for me. Now tell me who you are."

Hermione looked at Ron for support, but he seemed to have suffered a temporary loss of his jaw function, as it was simply hanging. "Shut your mouth, Ronald," she hissed at him, and he closed it. She turned back to their captor and began their story as best as she could. Jack and Hermes helped her, and after some time Sun Tzu lowered his sword.

"And then we had to get out of Troy, so we touched your name and were brought here," finished Hermione.

Sun Tzu raised an eyebrow. "You have yet to tell me why you have stunned your companions."

Jack cut in. "They were getting angry," he said. "Do you remember that the homunculi affect mortals' emotions?" When Sun Tzu nodded, he went on. "We believe Wrath is here, and is influencing them."

Sun Tzu frowned. "Why would Wrath be here?"

"The homunculi must have somehow found out that you were the successor of Ares, which is the god that Wrath used to be before the Master came to Olympus," said Hermione. "We think he means to kill you."

Sun Tzu nodded. "I have felt a bit more anger than I normally do," he said slowly. "It is fortunate that in my studies, I have mastered my emotions to the point that no outside influence can affect me." He looked around at them. "The question is, then, where exactly is Wrath, and why is he taking so long to come out? He must have been close while you were talking earlier, otherwise your companions would have not become filled with rage, and you would not have had to incapacitate them."

"Not only that," said Hermes, "but we can't be sure, while you're still mortal, that Wrath won't take you over. No offense intended, of course," he said hastily at Sun Tzu's narrowed eyes. "It's just that you are still mortal, and Wrath may be able to take over."

"That means you have to take your test," said Jack. "And you must do it quickly."

"What is the test then?" said Sun Tzu.

Hermes opened the book to Ares' page and read aloud from it. "You must display exceptional strategy in battle." He set the book down and looked around at everyone. "I'm not sure what that means."

"I do," said Ron. They all looked at him in surprise. He hadn't spoken much at all.

"What does it mean?" asked Sun Tzu. "Speak quickly, man whose hair is on fire."

Ron rolled his eyes. He was past being insulted by jibes at his ginger hair. "Do you know how to play chess?"

"Oh!" said Hermione. "Ron, you're a genius!"

"Always the tone of surprise," he said, though he smiled at her.

"Wait, what?" asked Hermes. "I'm confused. How will a game of chess prove that Sun Tzu is an exceptional strategist?"

Ron smiled grimly. "Because he'll be playing against the Hogwarts all time chess champion," he said. He looked over at Hermione. "Remember when I beat McGonagall's giant one in our first year?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling. "I remember," she said. "I also remember that you were lying unconscious when that game was over."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you know," he mumbled.

"I assume you sacrificed yourself as a player to win the game?" asked Sun Tzu, and Ron and Hermione looked at him, and Ron nodded. "Sacrifices are sometimes necessary in battle. You showed wisdom. Do you have a chess set?" He was clearly eager to get started.

"Not on me," said Ron, looking at the ground.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are you a wizard or not, Ronald?" she asked, and he grinned at her.

"Oh yeah," he said, and he leaned over to the ground. "May I?" he asked Sun Tzu, who nodded his assent. Ron picked up his wand and waved it in the air in front of him. A magnificent chess board appeared, with the chess men on it. Hermione tapped the board itself with her wand after retrieving it, and the chess men came started to move within their squares. Jack raised his eyebrows, and so did Sun Tzu. "Sorcery," said the man who would be Ares.

"I'm still taking time to get used to it myself," said Jack. "But that's exactly what it is."

"Do you know how to play?" Ron asked Sun Tzu, who nodded. "Okay," and Ron lowered the chess board to the ground. "Let's get started."

"Allons-y," muttered Jack.

"You speak French?" Hermione asked him curiously. He nodded.

"Not that much, but that was a favorite phrase of an old friend of mine," he said.

"What exactly does allons-y mean?" asked Ron, who was staring at the board, clearly planning his opening move. He and Sun Tzu were seated at the board.

"It's French for let's go," said Steve Zissou, and they all stared at him. "What?" he asked. "I get around a bit myself."

"Never mind that," said a voice. "How do I go about stopping this game from happening?"

They all turned and looked, except for Ron and Sun Tzu, who had just moved his white king's pawn forward two squares.

It was Wrath. Jack picked up his gun in a flash and pointed it at Wrath's head. Hermione did the same with her wand. "One more step and I'll shoot," said Jack.

Wrath laughed. "Oh, my dear Captain," he said, still moving forward. "That shot would do no more good against me than it would against you, even before your little metamorphosis into the king of gods."

Jack faltered a little at this, but kept his gun trained on the homunculus.

"How do you know Sun Tzu won't just lose the game?" asked Hermione of Wrath. "Ron's very good you know. I don't think anyone's ever beat him."

"Put your wand down, you silly girl," said Wrath. "Don't interfere in the realm of me-"

He was cut short by a blast of water to the face. Hermione looked over at Steve Zissou, who had both palms aimed at Wrath, and the water kept coming out of them. "Nobody talks to my niece like that," he said with a slight smirk.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Uncle Poseidon," she said. "But I can take care of myself. We don't need to kill him anyway. Incarcerous!" Ropes shot out of her wand and into the deluge of water that now surrounded Wrath.

Steve stopped the flow of water coming out of his hands. Wrath emerged from the flood sopping wet, and completely bound from head to foot in Hermione's ropes. He fell to the ground, cursing.

"I thought that you couldn't actually act on your own emotion," said Jack, frowning at Wrath as he stepped up next to the homunculus. His gun was still trained on him. "Wasn't that one of the downsides of being you? You can't actually kill anyone?"

Wrath sneered. "I can kill, you fool," he said. "You don't need to have wrath to kill someone."

Jack nodded. "That's true," he said conversationally. "Though I suppose that you do need to be conscious for it." In a quick move, he brought his gun down and pistol whipped the homunculus. Wrath slumped to the ground, knocked out.

"Now," said Jack, turning back to the chess game. "What's going on over here?"

While Hermione and Jack had been dealing with Wrath, Sun Tzu and Ron had moved into the middle of their game. Ron had captured three of Sun Tzu's pawns, along with a bishop and a rook. Sun Tzu had captured two pawns, two knights, and a bishop. Ron was trying to decide on his next move.

"There's another thing, Captain," said Hermes, stepping up to Jack's shoulder. "Since Helen here failed the test, we need to find another candidate to be Aphrodite. Since the only people eligible here are all unconscious, and two of them are male, then..." he trailed off.

"Are you saying that Pandora should be the next Aphrodite?" asked Jack. "No way. She's the one that opened the box in the first place!"

"It was a jar," Hermione said out of the side of her mouth.

Jack waved her off. "That's not the point," he said. "Absolutely not."

Hermes wouldn't take no for an answer. "She sought from the very beginning to correct her mistake. What else can she do but to take this on? It could help!"

Steve piped in at this moment. "If I may say something," he said. "Pandora may not be the right option for Aphrodite, but she is the only one we have at the moment, aside from an idiot and someone who has one too many penises for the job, even if he did want it."

"Which he doesn't," said Hermione. "Harry's had enough of this. He wouldn't take it unless there were no other choice."

Jack sighed. "Fine," he said. "But I say that if she passes the test, and that's a big if, mind you..." he trailed off, and took a deep breath. "If she passes it, she must choose a successor right away, and give up her seat right away once this is all over."

"She may not have a choice in that," said Hermes. "I believe that her fate and the fate of these fiends are tied together. If we manage to win the day, she may have to go into the box with them."

"For that matter, we don't even have an actual box," said Hermione. "Or the jar in which they were trapped in the first place."

Jack nodded. "So that's our next order of business once we get these two sorted out," he said, jerking his thumb at the chess players. "How's it coming over there?"

Ron breathed out a huge sigh. "I've never played someone this good," he said. "I'm having to use every trick I know just to stay in play. Aha!" he said, as he saw Sun Tzu leave his king open for attack. He moved his remaining rook to the left two squares. "Checkmate!" he said happily.

"Ronald!" said Hermione. "We need him to win in order for him to become Ares! You beating him is nothing to be happy about!"

"Oh," said Ron, worry coming over his face. He looked up at Sun Tzu. "I'm sorry."

Sun Tzu shook his head. "No, you have no need to be," he said. "You are a worthy opponent. If you had let me win the game, it would not have been fair, and I would not have become Ares anyway."

"So does Harry have to beat Ron at chess now?" asked Hermione. "Or Paris?"

Hermes took out the book. "As a matter of fact, that's incorrect," he said, a smile slowly creeping over his face. "Ron, er, Dionysus," he corrected himself, "you were quite right in not going easy on him. Even in his defeat, he showed exceptional skill and strategy."

"Too right he did," said Ron. He reached out to shake Sun Tzu's hand. "Best match I've ever played. Harry could never beat me. I don't know about this bloke," he added, nudging Paris with his toe.

"He doesn't have to," said Hermes. "Look."

They all gathered around the book, opened to Ares' page. The picture had changed from the face that was on Wrath to the one who had just lost to Ron at chess.

Sun Tzu looked up. "I feel no difference," he said.

"That's not surprising," laughed Jack. "Fortunately the people who are right for the job are already so much akin to it, they wouldn't feel any difference."

"Aside from the book, is there any way to tell whether he's really Ares now?" asked Ron.

Hermione tapped her chin, thinking. She snapped her fingers. "Sun Tzu, can you think of a great axe for me?"

His brow furrowed. "Of course, but why..." he trailed off as a large battle axe appeared in his hands. "Oh, I see. This could prove most useful."

"Well, that was certainly easier than the last god mission we had," said Steve. "What's next?"

"We need to find Hera's heir," said Hermes. "And we need to wake Pandora up and see if she can pass the test of Aphrodite."

"What should we do with this one?" asked Ron, pointing at Wrath.

"Let's leave him here," said Jack. "I'm sure his fellows will come looking for him when he hasn't turned up." He looked down at the two Greeks they had knocked out. "The bigger problem is these two. We're in ancient China now, and we don't really have a way to get to ancient Greece, in their time."

Ron grimaced. "Well, we're not bringing them with us, are we?" he asked. "They were enough trouble when we thought she was going to Aphrodite. They'll be more now that we know she won't. They'll be dead useless to us." He looked at his girlfriend. "Do you have any ideas, 'Mione?" he asked.

Her face was screwed up in concentration. "We could create a portkey to the outskirts of Troy, back where we left from. The problem becomes the time in which we send them. I don't have a time-turner, and even if I did, it would be too dangerous. If we sent them back too early, they're in two places at once. If we sent them back too late, they'll be presumed dead anyway.

Jack grimaced. "I really hate to use this," he said. "I've been ordered not to by a higher authority than me, and I usually like to listen to him on this."

"What is it?" asked Hermes.

Jack pulled back the sleeve of his coat to reveal a very large and complex looking device. "It's a vortex manipulator," he said. "It can jump through the time vortex, to anywhere and any when I want to go. It's tricky taking multiple people though."

"I don't think we've got much of a choice, Captain," said Hermione. "The alternative becomes leaving them here to deal with the homunculi."

"It would serve them right," muttered Ron. "They're pretty terrible people."

Hermione shot him a look. "I couldn't do that to them, Captain, and I won't let you either. Take them back."

Jack raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, I guess we know who's going to wear the pants on this Olympus," he said. He knelt down next to Paris and Helen's limp figures. "Here goes nothing," he said. "I'll be back in a flash."

He grabbed their arms in his own and hit a button on his vortex manipulator. In literally a flash of light, he was gone, with Paris and Helen in tow. Moments later, he was back.

"No problems, I trust?" said Hermes lightly.

"Not a one," said Jack. "I got there just in time to see us touch the book and disappear. I also gave them a little dose of retcon. They'll think they just passed out from the shock of Troy getting sacked. They won't remember a thing."

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Well done," she said. "Now let's deal with these two." She pointed her wand at Harry and Pandora and woke them up with a quick "Ennervate."

Harry rubbed his head. "Blimey, my head hurts," he said. "You haven't got a headache remedy in your bag, Hermione, do you?"

"Here," she said, tossing him a small vial after digging in her bag. "Not all at once though, I haven't got much, and we may need more later. From what I know of her, Hera will be a bit of a headache."

Pandora sat up as well. "What happened?" she asked at once.

Jack jerked his thumb at Wrath, who was bound and fortunately still unconscious.

"Oh my," said Pandora mildly. "I did miss quite a bit, didn't I?"

"That's not all," said Ron. "Meet the new Ares."

Sun Tzu bowed to her. "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Pandora. I hope that I am as astute as the god of war as you will be as the goddess of beauty."

Pandora's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard you," she said.

Jack looked at the sky. "No, you didn't mishear him," he said. "It's just like last time with the other Captain Jack and we made Ron here Dionysus. Helen failed Aphrodite's test, so you're the only one still eligible to take her place."

Pandora swallowed. "I'm afraid that I would be terrible at it. I mean," she said, blushing, "didn't I get us all in this mess in the first place?"

"And that you have been trying to take that back from that moment shows how well suited you are for this task," said Hermes quickly, shooting a look at Jack. "You only need to pass the test."

Pandora thought for a moment. "The test was to perform an act of true love," she said slowly. "What could I do then? I care about you all, of course, but I can't say that I love you."

"It may not need to be something overt," said Hermione. "If, for instance, it was like in the fairy tales, you would have to kiss a prince." She shot a look at Jack, who had been getting a lot of looks shot at him recently. On this occasion, he was wagging his eyebrows suggestively, and he ceased at Hermione's cutting glare. "Harry here would be the ideal candidate for that, but in any case, I don't believe it will work like that."

"Why not?" I asked, trying not to sound too disappointed. I had almost been hoping to get to kiss the young man with the intriguing scar and bright green eyes.

"Because just a simple kiss would not be a true showing of love," said Hermione. "People kiss others all the time without loving them. That's just lust."

She shuddered, as though thinking about the creature that had taken over the former Aphrodite's body. "No, we need something different. Love in itself doesn't necessarily have to be romantic. I mean, I love Harry, but he's like my brother. It couldn't be more than that. I love Ron too, but it's different. Do you see?"

Pandora nodded slowly. "I think so," she said. "But what exactly do I have to do?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said. "Such an opportunity may present itself later. For now though, we need to keep you safe, and in the event the opportunity does present itself, we need you to choose a successor in the even that you succeed."

Pandora's brow furrowed. "But I don't know anyone who would be worthy of the title of Aphrodite. The only person I could imagine would be you, Hermione."

"Hey!" said Ron. "That was a great line, I could have used that!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I don't love you for your lines, Ronald, and you know it," she said. She took his hand and kissed it. "Well, let me think." She looked at Hermes. "Does it say anywhere that the successors have to be real people, or can they be fictional?"

Hermes was taken aback at this. "I'm not sure what you mean," he said. "Are you saying that you have someone in mind, but they just came out of a story?"

Hermione shrugged. "Why not?" she asked. "Until recently, I thought that all of the gods were just stories, and now they're real. Maybe all stories are real in the end."

Harry chuckled, and they all looked at him.

"Oh, it's just something Dumbledore said to me when I was dead," he said. "He said that it was happening in my head, but why on earth should that mean it isn't real." Harry shrugged. "Maybe we're all stories in someone's head, maybe we're real, and maybe it's both."

"In any case," said Hermione, "I'm sure I can think of someone who exemplifies all of the qualities that Aphrodite would have. Just give me some time to go through my personal inner library."

They all watched her think for what felt like thirty seconds. Then she snapped her fingers. "Of course! I've got it!" She reached back into her bag, felt around for a bit, and pulled out a well worn book.

"Game of Thrones?" said Jack sardonically. "Really?

"

Hermione nodded. "Aphrodite is supposed to be about love, beauty, and fertility, right?" When Jack nodded, she went on. "Well, who exemplifies that better than the mother of dragons?"

Jack snorted. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. "Khaleesi?"

Hermione frowned at him. "Her name isn't Khaleesi, that's her title, Captain." She put particular emphasis on the last word. "Her name is Daenerys Targaryen, and she's even known as "Mhysa" to hundreds, if not thousands of people. 'Mhysa' means 'mother'," she said to Pandora's confused look.

Jack nodded. "Ok, I give in," he said. "Daenerys it is. If that's okay with you, Pandora."

Pandora shrugged. "It sounds good to me," she said. "Besides, if she's the mother of dragons, she could come in handy. Her children especially would."

"Very well," said Hermes. "Daenerys Targaryen shall be successor if you pass the test should it present itself to you."

"Great, on to Hera then," said Ron. "Who is it then?" he asked Hermes.

Hermes turned the book's pages to Hera, then looked up at Ron. "What was your last name?" he asked the young ginger man.

"Weasley," he said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

Hermes jerked his head noncommittally. "Well, it's just... this is an unusual situation, that's all."

"What is it?" asked Ron. Hermione joined Hermes with the book, and her eyes immediately widened.

"Oh Ron!" she exclaimed. "It's... it's..." she trailed off, unable to finish.

"Blimey, Hermione, what's gotten you speechless for once?" asked Harry, and he stood next to Hermes and Hermione. He let out a bark of laughter that sounded awfully like his godfather's.

"You're winding me up, mate," said Ron. "What is it?"

Harry took the book from Hermes and turned it around for Ron to see. "It's your mum, Ron."

Ron stared at the picture on Hera's page. Underneath the familiar, gentle face, was the name. "Molly Weasley," he read aloud, and he dropped the book. "Bloody hell."


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Twenty

A Family Affair

"Ron," said Hermione. "Your mother is going to be Hera. Are you sure you're okay with this?

Ron could only stare into space. "I'm not sure," he said. "I mean it makes sense, doesn't it? Hera is supposed to be the mother of most of the gods, and my mum is, well, the best mum ever. What do you think, Harry?" he asked, looking at his friend.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, mate," he said. "She is your mum, although she was a better mum to me than Aunt Petunia ever was." He shrugged. "It's your call."

Ron breathed out a huge sigh. "Okay," he said. "Let's get this over with."

They all gathered around Ron, who still held the book of heirs, and touched Mrs. Weasley's name. In an instant they were all whisked away, leaving Wrath behind lying on the ground, still unconscious.

They reappeared in front of a familiar crooked building. Well, familiar for three of them.

"Well, there's a sight for sore eyes," said Ron. Harry grinned as he looked at the Burrow, which had been more of a home to him than Privet Drive had ever been. Hermione smiled as well. For these three young wizards, this was where they belonged: with their family. Ron started toward the back door where the Wellington boots still lay.

"Ron," said Harry. "What do you think your mum will think about you being, well, you know, a god."

Ron stopped in his tracks and stared at Harry. "I don't know," he said. "I suppose I never actually thought about it."

Hermione grimaced. "I never thought about it either," she said. "What will the rest of your family think?"

"It looks like we're about to find out," said Jack, pointing at a woman that was striding toward them menacingly.

"Oh dear," said Harry.

"Ooh, she looks maaaaad," said Steve.

"Never mind that," muttered Ron. "What about me?"

"Where have you been?" shouted Mrs. Weasley.

"This feels familiar," said Harry in a low voice. "It's like the first time I came here."

Mrs. Weasley was staring at her son. "I got a letter from Hogwarts," she said. "It was from your little sister, Ronald Weasley, and it said that you three had gone off gallivanting with people who claimed to be gods. I assume that's the rest of you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes over her spectacles.

They all nodded. Even Ares, who had formerly been Sun Tzu looked worried for their safety.

Ron spoke up, rather bravely, if Pandora had anything to think about it. "That's right, mum," he said. "And guess what? Hermione and I are gods too!"

Mrs. Weasley's eyes shifted immediately to Hermione, who was looking at the ground, and then to Harry. "And what about you, Harry dear?" she asked tenderly.

Harry shook his head. "I've had enough of the god complex for a lifetime, Mrs. Weasley," he said.

She nodded. "I suppose it's a bit like when these two became prefects back in your fifth year, and you weren't chosen. Although I imagine you are a bit more pleased about it this time." she said.

"I say, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione timidly. "Don't you think you're taking this awfully well?"

"Oh please, Hermione dear," said Mrs. Weasley, chuckling. "You can call me Molly. We are as good as family, after all." She looked around at the people crowded in her yard, and fixed her eyes back on Ron. "So are you just coming to tell me that you're gods?" she asked. "It is nice to be kept in the loop, you know."

"Actually, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermes stepping forward. "It's a bit more complicated than that.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Who are you anyway?"

Hermes bowed low and introduced himself. So did Jack, Steve, and Pandora. Mrs. Weasley did a double take when Pandora said her name, but she otherwise seemed to ignore it. "So what are you here for then if it's not to keep me up to date on your activities" she asked.

Hermes took a deep breath, but Ron cut in. "You're going to be a god too, mum!" he said excitedly.

"What?" she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. "Don't be ridiculous. I can't be a god! Where did you come up with such a ridiculous notion?"

Hermes stepped towards her and began the long process of telling their story to her. When he got to the part of Ron becoming Dionysus, she looked at her son. "You were drinking?" she cried.

"Oh, it's better than that, mum," said Ron. "Watch what I can do now!" He showed her how he could shoot wine from his palms.

"And without a wand, too," Mrs. Weasley breathed. "Well, I suppose that means it's definitely true," she said. "But where do fit in all of this?"

Hermes went briefly over their coming to Troy and finding Helen to make her Aphrodite, her failing her test, and Sun Tzu becoming Ares.

"My son beat Sun Tzu in a chess match!" Mrs. Weasley said. "I couldn't be prouder!"

"And then we had to find Hera," said Hermes. "Your name and picture were in the book." He showed her the book of heirs with her face staring up at her. "Hera chose you to be her successor, long ago."

"But," muttered Mrs. Weasley, "but why would Hera choose me, of all people?"

"Please, Molly," said Hermione. "Hera is the goddess of marriage and family. There's nobody else I know that cares more about her family than you do. And that goes for the non blood members of your family as well."

Harry nodded. "That's right," he said. "You've always welcomed me here, ever since I was twelve years old."

"Well, of course," said Mrs. Weasley. "You're my son as much as Ron is, and the same goes for you, Hermione. You're as much a daughter to me as Ginny is. Never mind that neither you have the Weasley red hair. You're family." She said this all as though it were a matter of fact. Harry and Hermione beamed at her.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry softly.

"It's Molly, dear," she said. She looked back at Hermes. "So Hera chose me as a successor," she said. "I presume I am required to pass some kind of test?"

Hermes nodded. "Although from the way I see it, you passed it a long time ago."

"What's the test?" asked Jack.

Hermes consulted the book. "The heir of Hera must demonstrate her maternal instincts to an extreme measure." He looked up. "It's worded oddly, but that's what it says. You are a mother to these two, yet you did not bear them as children," he said to Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes," she said. "And I am a mother to two more girls, one of which is a daughter in law and four... I mean five other sons."

"Mrs. Weasley?" asked Jack questioningly. "What do you mean by that?"

Mrs. Weasley was silent on the matter. Ron spoke up thickly, his voice cracking a bit. "We told you we were in a war, Captain," he said. "My brother Fred, he... he didn't make it through."

Harry didn't meet anyone's eyes here. Pandora knew he must still feel guilty, though it was needless. Everyone here knew it wasn't his fault.

"I see," said Jack. "Is he buried nearby?"

Molly shook her head. "His twin, George, insisted that Fred be burned. They had always talked about it, after the war started. What they would want to be done with their bodies if they didn't make it." She wiped a tear from her face. "I never imagined, in my deepest horrors, that they would ever be apart. George hasn't been the same since."

"May I speak with him?" asked Jack. "I've lost people that are very close to me as well. It would help me to speak to him, and listen to him if he will speak to me."

Molly nodded. "Come with me," she said, and he followed her into the Burrow.

"Are you all right, Ron?" asked Pandora. The ginger's face was wan.

Ron forced a smile. "I'm fine," he said. "No, I'm not," he added immediately. "I'm not fine at all. It's not just losing Fred that hurts, though it does. It's losing George too. When we lost Fred, George lost a bigger part of himself than just his ear." He sighed and wiped his face. "And we lost a big part of George in that too. They were never apart. Never. I can't remember a time when they were ever apart. Just when we were transporting Harry, and George lost his ear, and then at the end, when..." he couldn't finish, and Hermione put her arm around him. She whispered in his ear, and he nodded.

"It's my..." Harry started.

"Don't you dare, Harry Potter," said Hermione. "Don't you dare say that it's your fault. Nobody thinks that. Do you hear me?"

Harry looked at her for a while, and then nodded.

Hermes nodded. "It seems that the Master missed a deadly sin," he said. "One that is worse than all of the others combined."

"What's that?" asked Pandora.

"Guilt," said Hermes. "It eats you alive from the inside out. The only way to defeat it is to forgive yourself. Nobody else can do it for you."

Harry nodded. "It's just... there's so many that I have to be forgiven for," he said. "Hedwig, Mad Eye, Dobby, Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Dumbledore, Cedric, Colin. I feel like it's my fault that Teddy is going to grow up without parents." He took a deep breath and let it out. "It's just going to take some time," he said at last.

Ron looked up at his best friend, his brother, and drew him into a hug. He pulled Hermione into the hug as well, and the three of them stood there and held each other for a while. "We're good, mate," whispered Ron. "Nothing's going to tear the Golden Trio apart ever again."

Harry snorted. "The Golden Trio?" he asked.

"Yeah!" said Ron. "That's what people are calling us. The three kids that took down Voldemort."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, how about you show those of us unfamiliar with your home around? We need to do something while we wait for your mother and Jack."

He grinned at her. "Sure," he said, and he beckoned everyone to follow him. "Come on. It's not much, but it's home."

"I think it's brilliant," said Harry. "I always have."

They wandered around the Weasley's land for a while, and Ron and Harry even demonstrated a little bit of what Quidditch was. Pandora was very impressed with how good of a flier Harry was. Then Ron showed them the bushes where the gnomes liked to hide. Steve managed to flush some out, and they emerged, sopping wet. Sun Tzu grabbed three of them deftly and hurled them out of the grounds. Ron nodded at him. "That will keep them out for a while, but they'll be back. They always come back."

It was late in the evening and getting dark when Jack and Mrs. Weasley finally emerged from the Burrow's kitchen. The group was surprised when they saw another young man in tow. He was stocky, a bit shorter than Ron, and he was missing part of one ear. Harry walked straight to him.

"Hi George," he said. "How are you?"

George looked up at Harry with an indeterminable expression on his face. Without warning, he reached out and pulled Harry into a hug. "I don't blame you," he whispered in Harry's ear. "We knew what we were getting into, and we gave them hell while we were at it." He pulled away and reached into his back pocket.

"What's that, George?" asked Ron.

"It's the last Weasley's Wildfire Whizbang," said George. "I've got the normal batch of ingredients in here, with just one more." He took a deep breath. "Fred was the final component in this one."

Their wasn't an eye among them that didn't widen at this. "Are you sure, Georgie?" asked Mrs. Weasley, laying a hand on her son's arm.

George nodded and cracked a crooked smile. "He always did want to go out with a bang," he said. "Now this way, he really can."

Without saying another word, George went out past the Quidditch paddock with the rest of them following. They barely noticed Mr. Weasley exiting the Burrow and falling into step behind them. There were several pops around them, and the rest of the Weasley clan was there too, along the twins' old friend, Lee Jordan, and Harry's old Quidditch team, including Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell.

When at last George came to a stop high on top of the nearest hill, he set the firework on the ground. He looked up at the group and smiled. "Talk about a celebration of his life, huh?" he said. "Thank you all for being here. I'm not much good at the sentimental things, mainly just the mental ones." He looked down at the town of Ottery St. Catchpole far below them, then up to the sky. "You always loved this spot, Freddie," he said in a lower voice. "You used to say that you could see the whole world from here, and that you were on top of the world. I don't know if that's true, but now the whole world will be able to see you from here on into eternity."

He bent down, taking his wand out. "Go into the stars and get up to no good for me, brother," he said, and he touched the tip of his wand to the firework. It sparked up, and he moved back from it.

Seconds later, it flew up into the sky and burst into a shower of red and gold. As they watched, it spelled out the words 'Mischief Managed'. Nobody's eyes were dry at this point. The words didn't fade, but they spread out, and more fireworks seemed to jump away from it, and curled up higher and higher into the sky. Soon it was too far away to see, but they knew that it would go on forever.

Down in the town below, there were some Muggles that looked into the sky in confusion, wondering where the words had come from and what they meant. They felt an odd sense of impishness, and several of them had the urge to play pranks on their friends, though nobody could quite say why.

As the large group walked back towards the Burrow together, Harry sidled up to Pandora.

"He's got a headstone at Hogwarts," he said. "All the people that died in the battle have them. There was a big ceremony. People at the Ministry wanted me to speak. I couldn't. It was like I was having to own up to killing them myself, though I know that's not what it was about." He sighed. "It's a big cemetery, that."

Pandora put a hand on his shoulder, but didn't say anything. In situations like this, there wasn't really anything someone could say.

Ginny Weasley was walking on Harry's other side, holding his hand. She cast a glance at Pandora every few minutes, but said nothing.

When they arrived at the Burrow, Ginny drew Harry aside to talk to him alone. Pandora felt a sense of loss as he moved away from her.

"Yeah, Ginny and Harry have been something or other for a couple of years now," said a voice, and Pandora jumped.

Ron and Hermione had been walking behind them the whole way back with their arms around each other. Ron had been the one who had spoken.

"What do you mean?" asked Pandora. "Does he love her? Does she love him?"

Hermione nodded. "They do," she said. "Ginny's loved Harry for years, though at the beginning it was mainly just the idea of Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, that she loved. She heard all sorts of stories about him." She laughed. "Even when I found out I was a witch, and I started reading everything I could get my hands on about it. When I came across Harry's story in several books, I couldn't help but want to get to know him a little."

Ron laughed. "But you were so bossy when we first met, we didn't really want anything to do with you!" he said. "But then the troll happened, and we couldn't really not be friends after that."

Pandora wasn't sure what exactly they were talking about, and her confusion showed. Hermione smiled at her.

"I'll get all of our adventures written down someday," she said. "Maybe I'll even publish them under a pseudonym. That's a false name, Ronald," she said to her boyfriend as his mouth opened.

"I wasn't going to ask that," said Ron. "I was going to ask what Harry would think about doing something like that. It's not like the adventures don't involve him at all. He would have to tell you a lot to fill in the gaps."

"I remember a lot of what he told us when we weren't there over the years, Ron," she said. "I think that it's all a matter of getting it down on paper. Oh, don't look at me like that," she said. "Of course I'm going to ask his permission to publish it."

Ron twisted his face into what must have been a 'suit yourself' expression. Pandora was still fretting over what they had said about Harry and Ginny. Hermione noticed her down in the dumps look and put a hand on her shoulder. "Harry fell in love with Ginny a couple of years ago, and by then she had finally gotten to know Harry for who he really was, and not what the story books said about him. They're right for each other."

Pandora nodded. "I can be a little jealous though, right?" she asked.

Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead. "Envy!" she said, and looked at Pandora very seriously now. "Try not to get too jealous," she said. "If you start feeling it become overwhelming, let me know. Come on, Ron," she said. "We have to let the others know." The two of them ran off, leaving Pandora standing at the back door by the Wellington boots. She could see a couple of gnomes sneaking back through the bushes on the far side of the garden.

She sat down and tried to control her emotions. Envy couldn't already be here, could she? It was certainly possible that the other homunculi had grown worried, if they could grow worried, about Wrath and gone to ancient China to check on him. When they found him bound and unconscious, they would be furious, not least because Wrath himself would be furious and exploding with his own emotion. They would move swiftly to get the last remaining gods under control.

As she sat there, her mind turned a bit more towards Harry and Ginny. Why did that girl have to take the man that should rightfully belong to her? Pandora hadn't spent as much time with Harry as Ginny surely had over the years, but she felt that she knew who he was as a person. She stood up, intending to tell that girl what she thought of her.

Then it struck her. She was definitely being influenced by Envy. She had to go and tell Hermione. Just as she was looking around, trying to figure out where the witch had gotten to, she came running back around the house with Ron, Harry, Jack, Steve, Sun Tzu, and Hermes in tow. Pandora felt a twist of something like hate as she saw Ginny following them closely, and did her best to suppress it.

"Envy is definitely here, Hermione," Pandora said as the group slowed to a stop in front of her. "She's making me want to do... nasty things to her," she finished lamely, nodding at Ginny. She hung her head. "I'm sorry."

Hermione nodded. "That settles it," she said. She turned to look at her companions. "Envy is here, and she means to stop us from gaining Mrs. Weasley as Hera. We have to act quickly. There are a lot of fully qualified witches and wizards here as well, so that will help. We need to fan out and fill them in on what's going on, so they can be wary of any attack on their own psyche. If anybody feels the slightest twinge of jealousy, send a patronus to me as quickly as you can."

"I'll stay with George," Ron said at once. "He hasn't been able to produce a Patronus since..." he couldn't finish, but Hermione nodded to him, and he ran off to find his brother.

"Harry, I need you to send your Patronus out to the others that are still straggling on the hill," said Hermione. "Let them know to prepare for battle. They don't quite need to know why, or what we're trying to do, but you know how to keep a secret, don't you?"

Harry nodded grimly, and raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" he cried, and an enormous silver stag erupted from the end of his wand and cantered around them. It came to a stop in front of Harry and he leaned close to whisper in its ear. After a few moments, it sprinted away up to the hill.

"What's going on, Harry?" asked Ginny, and Pandora felt that twinge again. Who was she to ask questions? But she shook it off.

"Ginny, these are the gods of Olympus," he said. "They're trying to get your mum to be Hera. I'll explain later, but right now someone is here trying to cause harm." He looked up towards the Quidditch paddock, where he could see some people flying around. "Can you get up to them and warn them to be ready?" he asked her.

She nodded at once. "Of course," she said, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. She cast one more glance at Pandora, as though to say 'he's mine', and then ran off, summoning her broom to her as she went.

Harry shot Pandora a look. "She's getting hit by Envy too, I think," he said. "She was asking what the deal was with you, and I had to tell her that we were just friends I don't know how many times." He looked at her seriously. "We are friends, right?"

Pandora smiled and nodded. "Of course we are, Harry," she said. "Even if I want more, that's what we are." She clapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she had just said.

"You want more?" asked Harry slowly, and then he smacked his own head. "It's not just Envy here!" he said quickly, turning to Hermione. "Greed is here too, and probably the others. This could get bad quickly," he said.

Hermione nodded. "Binders and stunners," she said, and turned to the others. "Knock them out if you can," she said. "They can't be killed, so we have to just knock them out. That way they can't use their power to influence anyone." She looked at Hermes. "Which of them will be the most dangerous?" she asked.

Hermes took a deep breath. "I'm not sure," he said. "Wrath would be very dangerous on his own, of course, because of his nature. He could cause chaos just by showing up, with this many mortals here." He scratched his chin. "Lust could be bad, because that would be very distracting. Pride would be bad, because he could make people think that they're indestructible and do stupid things." Then he nodded. "The most dangerous by far though, would be Sloth. He'll make people not want to do any work whatsoever, including to defend themselves. They'll just lay on the ground and allow themselves to be trampled or killed."

Hermione nodded. "So if we can take Sloth out first, that would help us the most," she said. "But we really need to incapacitate all of them." She looked at Sun Tzu. "I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this," she said. "But do you have a plan for battle?"

Ares nodded. "We must gather everyone together," he said. "And I'm sorry, but we must have all of the mortals unconscious."

"What?" cried Jack. "Why?"

"Because they will be susceptible to the homunculi's powers," said Sun Tzu. "If they are unconscious, the homunculi will have no power over them. The only exceptions, I think, should be the woman with red hair, Mrs. Weasley, and Pandora here." He looked at Pandora solemnly. "If the opportunity comes for them to be tested, they must be awake to pass it."

Jack looked at Hermes. "I thought you said Mrs. Weasley had already passed the test," he said.

Hermes consulted the book of heirs, and shook his head. "I said that as far as I was concerned, she had passed the test," he said, but pointed to the book. "The book has other ideas though." They all looked at it, and sure enough, Mrs. Weasley's name and picture were still in the successor box.

"Okay," said Jack, and looked at Harry and Hermione. "Can you send your silver animal messenger spells to all the witches and wizards to tell them to gather in the yard right here?"

Harry and Hermione nodded and raised their wands. "Expecto Patronum!" they both called, and the stag was this time joined by a silver otter, and they went off.

Less than a minute later, a large number of pops sounded, and they were surrounded by everybody that was present on the property. Ron came over to them. "What's going on?" he asked. Hermione held up a hand to tell him to wait, and stood in front of the crowd.

"We are under attack!" she said. "They are creatures that can influence your minds and emotions, like a dementor. However, there is no sufficient way to repel them, like a patronus. They do not need spells to use their power." She took a deep breath. "The only way to render their power ineffective is to be unconscious!"

Their was a great murmuring at this, and Oliver Wood spoke up. "Are you suggesting that we stun ourselves, Hermione?"

She nodded. "That's the only way to ensure that they won't take over your emotions," she said.

"What do you think, Harry?" asked Ginny, and thirty pairs of eyes turned to the bespectacled wizard.

Harry sighed and nodded. "I'll be unconscious too," he said. "I'll be useless in this fight."

Pandora knew that Harry was young. He wasn't much older than herself. Still, the gathered wizards and witches looked to him as a leader. So when he said it was okay to knock yourself out for this fight, they listened.

All except for one person. Molly Weasley wouldn't hear of it.

"Absolutely not!" she said adamantly. "We're a family, and we're stronger together than we are apart. I don't care if you people are gods, or whatever kind of powers these creatures have. I'm not going to let any of my family leave themselves that vulnerable."

"Mum, shut up!" said Ron, shocking everyone. "Don't you understand? These creatures attack your mind directly. If you're awake, you're vulnerable."

"Besides," said Steve, and he casually blasted a gnome back through the bushes he had just crawled through with a jet of water from his hand. "I believe we'll be more than a match for them."

Molly frowned. "You can't be sure of that," she said. "There's safety in numbers, right? The more of us, the safer we'll be."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry, Molly, but you're wrong there," she said. "The more of you there are, the more power they'll have. The more of you there are, the more people they can control, and the harder it will be to beat them. Some of us have already begun to feel their effects." She nodded at Pandora.

"It's true, Mrs. Weasley," said Pandora. "I wanted to hurt your daughter because of the effect of one of these creatures. I don't even know your daughter, and I hated her, because she had something I wanted."

Mrs. Weasley inexplicably smiled at this. "Well of course you did, Pandora dear," she said. "Who wouldn't want what she has?" Her eyes flickered to Harry. "I wouldn't mind a bit of it myself."

"Stupefy!" shouted a voice, and a jet of red light hit Mrs. Weasley right between the eyes. She fell down, but a bunch of wands were drawn as she hit the ground and aiming in the direction the spell had come from.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Mrs. Weasley?" he said as he recognized the figure emerging from around the side of the house.

"I'm sorry," she said. "She took me by surprise." She looked down at what appeared to be herself lying on the ground. "It seems that these creatures have access to Polyjuice Potion."

Hermione frowned. "But Polyjuice Potion is only for human transformations, I know that better than anyone," she said. "But it does raise the possibility that these creatures, or at least one of them, can take the shape of someone else as an inherent ability."

Jack stepped forward. "I'm sorry about this, Mrs. Weasley, but with this development we will have to bind you and your doppelganger up until we determine which of you is the real one."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "After sitting with you as we talked to my son, I would expect nothing less from you, Captain." She conjured two chairs and levitated her double into one of them. She then settled herself in the other. "Go ahead, then," she said.

Jack nodded to Ron and Hermione, who stepped forward. "Incarcerous," they said, and ropes flew out of their wands and bound the two Mrs. Weasley's to the chairs. "Ennervate," said Ron, pointing his wand at the stunned one.

She woke up, blinked a little, and looked around. "Where am I? Why am in this chair?" she asked, then looked to her right, where the other Mrs. Weasley was watching her warily. "My goodness!" she said. "Somebody's made Polyjuice Potion with bits of me! Untie me and stun her now!"

"Sorry, Mum," said Ron. "But we can't let you free until we know for sure that you are who you say you are. Dad?" he called, looking around for his father.

Arthur Weasley stepped forward and knelt in front of the two women. "Molly," he began.

"Yes, Arthur?" said the two Mrs. Weasleys at once.

"You," he said, pointing at the one that the other had stunned. "Tell me what I said when Ginny was born."

She smiled at him. "You said she was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen," she said. "You said that you were so happy to finally have a gorgeous baby girl."

Arthur made no indication that she was correct or incorrect, but looked at the other Mrs. Weasley. "And you," he said. "Tell me what I said when Ginny was born."

There were tears running down her face when she answered. "You couldn't speak," she said. "You didn't want to let go of her though. You would carry her around for hours when we brought her home from St. Mungo's."

Arthur adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses. When he moved his hand away, Hermione could see the tears coming from behind them. He drew his wand and released the woman from her bonds. He leaned in to give her a kiss, and then he turned to the other Molly.

"I knew you weren't my Mollywobbles," he said, smiling crookedly. "She would never talk that way to someone." He turned to Pandora. "I don't know this woman, but I apologize for the way she spoke to you. I don't know you either, but if my children have accepted you, I trust you." He turned back to the fake Molly, who had turned back into Envy, and pointed his wand at her. "How many of your fellows are here right now?" he asked. "Speak quickly and I will make sure you're unconscious for the part of what I will do to you for befouling my wife's image."

Envy sneered at him. "I know what kind of man you are," she said. "You wouldn't dare." She smirked. "I'll make you watch as I carve your gorgeous Ginny that left you speechless out of the womb up into pieces."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes flashed. "Not my daughter, you bitch!" Her wand was back out and fire flew from it to hit the legs of the chair that Envy was sitting in.

"Are you ready to speak now?" asked Mr. Weasley calmly.

Envy laughed. "You've already felt the effects of one of them," she said. "Are you feeling a little wrathful?" She laughed again. "You should feel the others soon enough. Is anyone getting hungry by the way?"

Harry's stomach rumbled. "It's now, everyone!" he cried out, and raised his wand to his temple. "Stupefy!" he cried, and he fell to the ground. Ron caught him before he hit the ground.

"He never thinks things like that through," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. "Everyone lay down before you stun yourself, please!"

The gathered witches and wizards did as they were told, and with many more cries of "Stupefy!" and as many flashes of red light, they were all unconscious.

Envy swore. "It's getting rather hot," she said. Steve turned to Envy and shot out jets of water from both hands. One doused the flames of the chair, and the other one hit Envy straight in the face, leaving her sputtering.

"Thank you," said Envy, spitting out water. "I've got three of my companions here," she said finally. Sloth, Pride, and Lust are dealing with matters on Olympus." She wagged her eyebrows. "Don't you think you should get back there to handle them?"

Jack shrugged. "All in good time," he said. "We have to take care of one of our own here." He looked over at Hermes. "Is there any change?"

Hermes was looking back at Hera's page. "Nothing yet," he said. "Unfortunately, there's no way for any of us, including Mrs. Weasley, to know if it's taken affect aside from looking at the book."

"How about a meal?" said Envy. "There's nothing more maternal than a home cooked meal for the family, is there?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled sweetly at Envy. "I had one prepared a long time ago," she said, and turned to the others. "It's in the kitchen if you would like some, go ahead and serve yourselves."

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," said Envy. "You may not like what you find."

"Oh?" said Jack. "And what might we find in there besides a home cooked meal?"

Envy smiled wickedly. "That meal might not be there anymore. Gluttony gets awfully hungry," he said.

"We'll take our chances," said Ron, and he turned to lead the rest of them inside. "My mum really is the best cook, you know," he said, now completely ignoring Envy's sputtering. "She's of course had to work really hard to become so, having nine people in the family and not a large budget to work with, but she's made an art form out of it, really."

As they went inside, Envy called out after them. "You're making a mistake, I tell you!" she cried. "Gluttony has eaten larger things than you, and he doesn't even chew his food! He just swallows it whole!"

Jack was the last one to go through the door. Before he did, he turned and walked over to Envy. "You know, I really don't like your tone," he said. He took his gun out and hit Envy over the head with it, effectively knocking her out. "I do hate to hit a woman, but you're not really a woman anyway," he said casually, holstering his gun and going inside with the others.

"It feels odd, leaving everyone else unconscious outside," said Pandora. "Do you think they'll be all right? After all, we don't know where the other three are exactly, and we can't know for sure that the ones she mentioned are actually at Olympus."

Jack nodded. "She's definitely a liar," he said. "For all we know, the ones she mentioned at Olympus could be here, and the other ones could be at Olympus." He looked at Hermione. "Isn't there some sort of spell that could identify them if they were here?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. "Well, there's Homenum Revelio, but that's to find out if there's humans around. We know there's all of the humans out there, but the homunculi aren't human."

"Try it on me," said Ron. "If I'm a god, that might mean I don't show up as a human anymore."

"That's clever, Ron," she said. "But the homunculi aren't gods anymore, so wouldn't they be different from you?"

He nodded. "It doesn't hurt to try it though, right?" he asked.

She nodded at him. "Okay," she said, and pointed her wand at him. "Homenum Revelio!" she said. Ron's body glowed blue.

"Bloody hell," he said. "That was different."

"What does it do on regular humans?" asked Jack.

Hermione turned to Pandora and cast the spell again. Pandora's body glowed red.

"Okay," said Jack. "Do you think it would do something different for homunculi?"

Hermione smiled. "There's a way to find out," she said, and pointed her wand at the wall, at the area they knew where Envy was still sitting. "Homenum Revelio," she said, and they saw a green glow come from that spot.

"We could cast it on the whole party," said Ron instantly.

"Cast it on the house as well," said Sun Tzu. "We do not know if they may be hiding somewhere inside."

Ron nodded. "Right," he said, and he cast the spell on the inside of the house. There was a green glow coming from room a couple floors above them. He looked at Hermione. "That's Fred and George's old room," he said, and started towards the stairs.

She grabbed his arm. "Wait," she said. "We don't know which one it is, and there's no real way to find out."

Hermes raised his hand. "I might have a way," he said, and he flapped the tips of his wings.

Hermione looked like she could have kissed him. "That's brilliant," she said. "Be careful though."

Hermes stepped outside, and Hermione followed him. She cast the Homenum Revelio spell on the people knocked out on the ground and they all came up red. She nodded, satisfied, but then something green caught her eye, just beyond the gnome bushes. She crept over several people's still forms, and cast the spell silently, aiming at the spot she had seen. There was a green glow coming from the spot, and she immediately fired a stunner at it, in case whatever it was decided to jump out at her.

Unfortunately, she hadn't thought to check around the side of the house when they had come out. While Hermes was confirming that Greed was the one upstairs in the twins' room, another homunculus had crept around the side of the house and grabbed Hermione.

"You'll regret that," said Wrath in her ear. "Gluttony gets very hungry when he wakes up, and I'll make sure you're right there when he does."

Ron heard a scream from outside. "Hermione!" he shouted, and he burst out of the door just in time to see Wrath vanish from the spot with Hermione in tow. Meanwhile, Hermes came down, reporting that Greed had just vanished from the room upstairs, appeared beyond the bushes with the unconscious Gluttony, and disappear.

Ron sank to his knees, tears coming down his face. The others had rushed out behind him, and Jack squeezed the young man's shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said. "We'll get her back."

"You're damn right we will," said Mrs. Weasley. "They won't get away with this for long." She knelt down next to her youngest son and wrapped him up in a hug. "I promise."

Ron wept.


	22. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Chapter Twenty One

The Hostage Trade

Molly turned right around and marched toward where Envy was still sitting, knocked out. There was a little blood coming from where jack had hit her. Molly reared her hand back and smacked Envy right across the face.

"Yeow!" said the homunculus, waking up at the sudden blow. "Why couldn't you do that a bit more gently?"

Molly leaned over and looked right into Envy's eyes. When she spoke, it was in a low, dangerous voice. "Your friends took her away," she said. "Where did they go?"

Envy looked around at the rest of them gathered around her. "Who do you mean?" she asked innocently. "I was knocked out, so I didn't see anything."

Molly didn't hesitate. She slapped Envy again, this time making her nose bleed a little.

"Would you like more?" she asked. "You're going to get it if you don't start talking, and soon."

Steve nudged Jack in the ribs behind Molly. "Do you think she's always like this?" he muttered.

Jack shook his head and pointed at Ron, who was staring at his mother with something remarkably like terror in his eyes. "I don't think so," he said. "I don't think she's ever been like this before."

"Only once," said Ron, overhearing them. "That time, I saw someone die." There was a definite sneer in his voice when he said it.

"I take it this person deserved it," said Sun Tzu delicately.

Ron nodded. "I never want to be against my mum when she's like this," he said. "Heads start rolling."

Envy was looking at the group again. "So you're missing your precious little Athena, I see," she said. "It's a pity she's not prettier, they might keep her around longer." She smirked. "I guess she's not as clever as you all seemed to think she was if she let herself get captured so easily. I told you that you shouldn't have gone inside." She laughed. "Of course I knew you would, just to spite me. It was reverse psychology. I'm surprised that you didn't see through that."

Ron's ears were turning red, and Pandora had known him long enough to know that it wasn't a good sign. "You tell me where they've taken her, or I swear I'll," but he was cut off.

"You'll what?" asked Envy, blinking at him slowly. "You'll kill me? I don't think so, child. Better men than you have tried, and let me promise you. It. Does. Not. Work."

Ron glared daggers at Envy and then turned away.

"As it so happens," said Envy, and Pandora looked up hopefully. "I actually planned to tell you where they took her, but I don't think I will now. Being threatened with your life is not a good motivator for someone who can't die, although the process of not dying itself is quite painful. Isn't it, Captain?" she added to Jack, leering at him.

Jack said nothing, but Ron stepped forward. "Where is she," he said. "Please, I'm begging you. I promised myself I would never let this happen to her again, and I failed. Let me redeem myself."

Envy stared at him, unsmiling. "No," she said.

"Well, we can't let you go," said Jack. "They have one of ours, and we have one of theirs. We could offer a trade."

Envy barked out a laugh. "A trade!" she cried in mirth. "What exactly do you think an offer of a trade would accomplish? They'll kill her, and I can't die, so you can't kill me! Face it, you can't win."

Jack was unmoved by the display. "We don't have to," he said. "We can burn you to ash, and keep you locked up in a box so unbreakable you can never be whole again. Would you like to be a prisoner for eternity?"

Envy sneered. "You couldn't keep a box like that hidden forever," she said. "They would find it."

"Not necessarily," said Jack grimly. "There are other worlds than these. I've been to a number beyond count myself. I could drop you off on one of those. Or maybe just toss you into a black hole, or let you slip when I'm within the gravity of a sun. There would be nothing else to find then. You wouldn't die, but you would be in hell forever."

Envy glared at him, then looked at the ground. "Fine," she said. "They've gone to Olympus. I suppose you had already worked that out, I'm sure. You just wanted to have your little fun with me."

Jack didn't reply. He laid a hand on Envy's arm and nodded at Hermes. Hermes pulled out the book of heirs.

"Wait," said Ron. He drew out his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Ennervate," he said. "Harry's not going to miss this. He'd kill me if I left him here."

Harry stood up, and seeing that Hermione wasn't there, looked questioningly at his friend. Ron said nothing, but Harry could tell something had happened by the determined looks on all of their faces.

"We should wake them," he said, indicating the others on the ground.

"No," said Jack. "There's too many of them. Aside from the advantage it would provide the homunculi with, we can't let the secret of Olympus get out. There are too many mortals that know the truth of it as it is."

Harry nodded. "Let's go then."

Hermes turned to a page in the book that they hadn't looked at yet. "Hephaestus?" said Pandora questioningly. "Is everything okay with him, after leaving the fire on Earth?"

Hermes shook his head. "He is still on Olympus, but he is shunned by the others. If he helps us, it may redeem him in their eyes, especially once they see that they have been deceived by the homunculi."

They all gathered around Hermes, and, with Jack still clutching Envy's arm, they touched Hephaestus' name and vanished from the Burrow.

Moments later, Ginny Weasley woke up and looked around. "Damn it, Harry Potter," she said. "You've gone and left me behind again!"

When the group reappeared, they were in what appeared to be a small hut, but they were definitely on the outskirts of Olympus. Pandora recognized the palaces and the main courtyard in the distance.

"Hermes?" said a tired voice.

"Yes, Hephaestus, it is I," said Hermes.

"What message does Zeus have for his disgraced servant?" asked Hephaestus, bowing his head low. He did not question the presence of all the other people in his home.

Hermes looked over at Jack questioningly. Jack nodded at him and he turned back to Hephaestus. "I believe that Zeus has come to deliver his message in person," and he stepped back to allow Zeus to step forward.

Hephaestus furrowed his brow. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Yes, well, that's going to take some time to explain," said Jack. "And that's time that we don't have much of right now. Suffice it to say that I am Zeus, and we need your help."

Hephaestus narrowed his eyes. "What?" he asked. "He's telling the truth," said Hermes. "Zeus, along with several other gods, had their bodies taken over by a creature, a being called the Master. He has turned them into manifestations of the classic human seven deadly sins. He also killed Athena." Hermes gestured to Jack. "This is who Zeus chose to be his successor. And he passed the test!"

"And who are these others?" asked Hephaestus. "Are these the heirs of the other gods?" "Yes," said Hermes. "These are the heirs to Dionysus, Ares, and Poseidon." Ron, Sun Tzu, and Steve all inclined their heads respectfully.

"And where is the heir to Athena?" asked Hephaestus.

"She has been captured by the sins," said Hermes. "They are called homunculi. We also have the heirs to Hera and Aphrodite, however they have yet to pass their tests. They haven't even been presented the opportunity to pass them yet."

"We have reason to believe that Athena was brought here to Olympus," continued Jack.

"What makes you say that?" asked Hephaestus.

Jack pulled Envy forward. "This is one of the creatures," he said. "This is a homunculus."

Hephaestus raised his eyebrows. "But that's Hera," he said.

"No," said Jack. "This is Envy, Envy took over Hera's form, and this is going to be Hera once she passes her test," he said, indicating Mrs. Weasley.

"And who is the new Aphrodite?" asked Hephaestus.

Pandora stepped forward timidly. "It is I," she said. "Pandora."

"Pandora?" said Hephaestus in disbelief. "I had wondered what happened to you! I've been keeping an eye on your village. Your brother-in-law is well, while your husband, well..." he trailed off.

"Speak not of my husband," said Pandora quickly. "He lost that title when he tried to have me killed."

Hephaestus thought it was a good time to change the subject. "So, where do you think they have Athena?" he asked. "And how do you know that this creature, this homunculus that you call Envy, was not lying to you?"

"Oh, she was telling the truth," said Jack. "I can promise you that."

"Who else was taken?"

"Well, there was Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Athena was killed," said Jack, counting off on his fingers. "Oh, yes, and Hades as well."

Hephaestus raised his eyebrows. "Hades was taken as well?" he asked in shock.

Hermes nodded. "Yes," he said. "Greed has taken his form. Zeus is now Pride, Hera as you see is Envy, Poseidon is Sloth, Ares is Wrath, Aphrodite is Lust, and Dionysus is Gluttony."

"Huh," Hephaestus said. "I suppose that makes sense. All of those kind of fit, though I might want to switch out Pride and Lust. Aphrodite took way too much pride in her own appearance." He looked back at Jack. "So how can I help? Nobody listens to me here anymore. I'm disgraced!"

Jack thought for a moment, and looked at his messenger. "What do you think, Hermes?" he asked. "Could you get the other gods, the ones that aren't homunculi, to accept Hephaestus back into the fold?"

Hermes shrugged, something Pandora had not seen him do before. "I'm not sure," he said. "I can only imagine them accepting him again with the approval of Zeus, and until they see that you are truly Zeus, I can't see them welcoming him back at all."

"Okay, then, this is my first order to you as your king to my messenger," said Jack. "Take the book of heirs and gather any other gods that you can. Apollo, Artemis, I don't care. Just try to get some support, some people to believe you."

"Wait," said Ron. "Aren't we one god short?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hermes.

"Well, didn't we just remember that Hades was taken as well?" asked Ron. "We need to find out who his successor is!"

Sun Tzu nodded. "I for one do not want to go into battle unless we have our full strength," he said. "Though I do not know if we have time to find one more heir while Athena is being held." He looked to Jack. "What do you think, my king?"

Jack frowned. "Don't," he said. "Don't call me that, please. And I think it's at least worth looking to find out who Hades chose to be his successor."

Hermes nodded. "I agree," he said, and he opened the book once more, this time to the page that belonged to the god of death. He froze when he saw the name and picture. "Well, that makes things simple, then," he said.

"Who is it?" asked Harry.

Mrs. Weasley was standing near enough to Hermes to see past his arm into the book. She looked at Harry. "Harry, dear," she said gently, but with a bit of shock to it. "I'm afraid that it's you."

Harry frowned. "I did say that I was done with this god complex stuff," he said stoically. "Does anybody actually remember that?"

"It doesn't look it's done with you, mate," said Ron consolingly. "It's a rough break."

Harry looked at Jack. "Do I really have to?" he asked. "Is there nobody else?"

Jack looked at the book. "I'm afraid that you at least have to attempt the test," he said. "And by that I mean you have to really try to pass it, you can't just fail on purpose."

Harry looked pleadingly at Hermes, who shook his head. "That's the way it works," he said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not actually, because we could definitely use you."

"It's okay, Harry," said Pandora softly, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I feel as though you were meant for this, just as Hermione was meant to be Athena, and Ron was meant to be Dionysus." Ron grinned at this, but Harry shrugged Pandora's hand off of his shoulder.

"I'm tired of being the bloody Chosen One!" he yelled. "I don't want to be chosen anymore! I want to make my own decision on what I do with my life for once!" He looked at Hermes. "Please, I'm begging, is there any sort of loophole that I can get out of this by?"

Hermes shook his head sadly, and Harry kicked the wall. "Reparo," he muttered, and the collapsed wall fixed itself.

"Sorry, mate," said Ron. "I know you can't catch a break, and I got jealous all of the time because of it. I didn't know how bad it could be on you. But we really need you now Harry. Hermione needs you. If you can't do it to save the world, at least do it to save your best friend."

Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged. "Mate, she was there for you even when I wasn't. I'm telling you right now that if you don't do this, you're spitting on that friendship. How could you not be there for her?"

Harry finally nodded. "Okay," he said. "What's the test?"

Hermes didn't smile. "You have to fully understand what death means," he said. "You have to have known death from several perspectives."

Harry snorted. "And you're saying I haven't passed that test already?" he asked. "I lost my parents when I was a baby, survived the Killing Curse that same night, I lost a friend when I was fourteen, my godfather when I was fifteen, my favorite teacher when I was sixteen, and I lost count of how many people I lost when I was seventeen. My owl, my father's last best friend, Ron's brother. Bloody hell, even I died when I was seventeen!"

Hermes was taken aback by this outburst, but he was unmoved. "Have you ever taken a life?" he asked.

"I…" Harry started, but faltered. He had killed Voldemort, hadn't he? No, he had simply cast Expelliarmus, and Voldemort's spell had rebounded upon himself. He had won the duel, and his enemy had died, but he didn't kill Voldemort. "No," he said finally. "I haven't."

"In order to pass the test and become Hades, you must truly understand what it is to take a life," said Hermes. "Before this is over, you may have to."

Harry shook his head. "I never did it in the war, and I don't intend to start now," he said.

"You are not a child," said Sun Tzu delicately. "I am beginning to see that you never were. But it seems that you still have this last loss of innocence to truly become what you must be."

Harry scoffed. "Whatever innocence I had was taken from me long ago," he said roughly.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Harry seriously. "Do you remember what happened in the Great Hall that day?" she asked.

He knew what she was talking about. "Yes," he said.

"And do you think any less of me for having killed that evil woman?" she asked.

Harry didn't hesitate. "No," he said. "Not a bit. She was going to kill your daughter. You had no choice."

Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "Of course I had a choice," she said. "I made the choice to end a life, in order to save others. I had to decide what I wanted to live with on my conscience. You already bear the burden of so many deaths on your own conscience that you were not responsible for. Could you have made the decision to kill someone that would have saved my Fred?"

Harry swallowed. Ron cut in. "That's not fair, Mum," he said. "Harry couldn't have…" but his mother cut him off.

"Harry may have had the chance to kill the person that eventually ended Fred's life," said Mrs. Weasley. "I do not hold him responsible in the slightest for not taking that chance, for one can not know the impact that their actions or inactions will have on the future." She looked at Harry seriously, but gently. "I am asking you, Harry, that if you had seen that man about to cast the curse that blew up that corridor, right as his arm was about to aim, and his mouth was about to shout, could you have killed him, knowing that you were saving my son, your friend's life? And don't think about the answer, it has to be instinctual."

Harry nodded. "Yes," he said. "If it came down to their life or a friend's life, I would kill them in a second."

"What about your own life?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "That must count for something to you."

"I feel I've gained a lot of perspective on that, Mrs. Weasley," he said. "Like I said, I did die for a moment there. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have had the tools to come back and finally beat him. But you must have seen that I didn't cast a spell to kill him!" he insisted.

"It helps that you knew you would win anyway, though," said Ron. "The Elder Wand ensured that."

Harry shook his head. "I didn't know for sure, but I strongly suspected."

"And that's what got you through it," said Ron. "I trust your instincts, but Voldemort was a special case. You won't always be sure you're going to win, so you have to make sure you're going to win."

Jack nodded. "He's right," he said. "Sometimes, the only way to win is to kill your enemy. Give him a chance, but keep your guard up, and if he tries to take advantage of that one moment of weakness, you have to end him."

"I hate to rush this teachable moment," said Hermes. "But don't we have to go rescue your friend?"

Jack nodded. "Go," he said. "Spread the word that the gods are back, and we're going to take back our home!"

"What will we do?' asked Sun Tzu.

Jack grinned down at Envy. "We're going to arrange a trade," he said.

An hour later, they were standing in the courtyard in front of Zeus's palace. Hermes had gathered several gods to their cause, and they were all waiting for the homunculi to come out and meet them. Hermes had gone in to speak with them, in the hope that if they tried to attack him, he could fly to get away from them.

"What's taking so long?" Ron muttered to Jack. "Do you think he's all right?"

Jack didn't respond. A vein pulsed in his neck. He was on high tension right now, and if the ginger next to him didn't shut up with his stupid questions, he would have a conniption.

An extremely tense thirty seconds later, Hermes came flying out of the doors at breakneck speed. "Kill me now!" he cried. "They've got me!"

Before he could fly any farther, a hand stretched out and grabbed him. It wasn't actually a hand, but four extremely long claws, and they pierced Hermes in each of his limbs, holding him still. Then the claws yanked him down and he slammed into the top of the steps. Pandora winced as she heard several bones breaking.

Lust walked out, holding her arm in front of her. The four claws were extending from her hand. The other homunculi followed her out. Pride was holding Hermione around her neck and marching her forward.

"Hermione!" shouted Ron. "Give her back right now, or I swear I'll –" but he was cut off.

"You'll what?" asked Greed, grinning maliciously. "You'll pour us a drink? Gluttony would enjoy that, I know, wouldn't you, Gluttony?"

Gluttony himself smiled. "Oh yes," he said. "I'm going to need some wine to wash your friend down with!"

"Don't you dare touch her!" shouted Ron, his ears now very red.

"Face it, kid," said Greed. "You should know by now that you can't kill us. We've beaten you."

"How about a trade then?" called out Jack. "We've got Envy here," and he hauled the bound homunculus forward.

"Haha," said Pride. "You seem to be one hostage short. As you can see, we've got two. If you want both of them, one of you is going to have to give yourselves up."

Ron stepped forward instantly. "Take me in Hermione's place then," he said.

"No, Ron," said Harry. "You know she'd never accept that."

"I'll go," said Pandora, and they all looked at her. "What?" she asked. "You don't need me, and I am the one who got you all into this in the first place."

Jack looked at Pandora. "Are you sure?" he asked. "We do need someone to be Aphrodite, after all."

Pandora nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I know you can find someone else, someone more worthy than me." She looked at Hermione, and then at Ron. "Those two need to be together. Anyone can see that they're in love, and people who love each other belong with each other." She reached out and took Envy's arm. "I'll be all right, really," she said, and turned to the homunculi gathered at the top of the steps. "Release them!" she called. "You've got what you wanted."

She started up the steps with Envy next to her. The homunculus was surprisingly silent up to this point, and Pandora turned her head toward her. "Why have you decided to be so quiet?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be gloating?"

Envy looked at her. "You really don't understand, do you?" she asked. "Once he's back on your side, yell for your winged friend to check his book again."

Pandora furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Has Harry become Hades, or has Mrs. Weasley become Hera?"

Envy said nothing, but turned forward. Hermione and Hermes were being led down the stairs by Pride and Lust. Hermes looked to be in excruciating pain. Lust now had a claw protruding through each arm and each wing. He could at least walk now that his legs were free. Pandora leaned over to him as she passed.

"Check your book, Envy says," she said. "I don't know why."

Hermes grimaced, but nodded and kept walking.

Once Pandora and Envy reached the top of the stairs, Greed and Sloth came forward. Sloth cut the bonds holding Envy, and Greed grabbed Pandora by the arms. Pride and Lust came back up the stairs, having released Hermione and Hermes. Pandora turned and looked back to the foot of the steps.

Ron and Hermione were holding each other, and Mrs. Weasley was checking over Hermione for any injuries. Lust turned to Pandora. "We didn't say we'd trade live hostages," she said, and her hand shot out.

The claws extended quickly towards Hermione's face, but Mrs. Weasley saw them coming, and she was too quick. Her wand came up.

"Not my daughter, you bitch! Reducto!" she cried, and Lust's hand exploded at its center. The claws clattered uselessly to the steps.

Enraged, Envy leaped down the steps, forming her arm into a long spike, aimed directly at Mrs. Weasley's heart.

Harry didn't think. His wand was out and the words were formed on his lips before he knew what was happening. "Avada Kedavra!" he yelled, and for the first time, a green jet of light went from his wand into Envy's body. Envy collapsed to the ground.

Harry stared at what he had done, and looked at Mrs. Weasley with tears forming in his eyes. "I... I don't..." but he couldn't finish.

Mrs. Weasley didn't need him to. She wrapped him up in a hug. "Thank you for saving my life, my son," she said, and Harry wept openly into her arms.

Ron and Hermione would have supported their friend, but they had their wands trained on the remaining homunculi at the top of the steps.

"Check the book," said Jack. "Do it now." His hands were crackling and sparking as he rubbed them together. "These bastards are going to fry."

Hermes took out the book, wincing as he did, and turned to the page with Hades. Replacing the picture that had the face of Greed was now Harry's face. He looked up at the boy wizard, who was still sobbing. He turned quickly to Hera's page. The face of the creature that lay unmoving on the steps had been replaced by the woman who was holding her son to her and whispering softly.

Once more, Hermes turned the pages to Aphrodite. The face of the woman who held her mangled hand in front of her was gone. In its place was the woman who had recognized true love and sacrificed herself for it.

Pandora watched these entire goings on from the top of the stairs, still held in Greed's clutches. She wasn't sure what had happened, but something felt different within her, though what it was, she couldn't explain.

"We're complete," called out Jack. "All of the gods are here! Now crawl back in your box and leave Olympus alone!

" He nodded to Hermione, who used her wand to conjure a small, plain looking box with brass hinges. She opened it and laid it down on the steps in front of her. Jack looked back up. "Get in!"

Greed leered down at him. "If you think you've won, think again. We'll be back one day." He looked at Envy on the ground. "We did say you couldn't kill us, but I suppose we were wrong." He looked at Harry, whose eyes were bloodshot, but clear and defiant. "May that live on your conscience forever." He nodded at Sloth to grab Lust, and Pride to grab Envy's limp form. Gluttony and Wrath followed the four down next to the box. They were all sucked in the moment they touched it.

Jack's hands glowed brilliantly now, and he was ready to shoot lightning out of his fingertips at a second's notice. "And what are you waiting for?" he asked. "Don't tell me you think you're getting out of here. You're going in that box."

Greed smiled. "Of course I am," he said. "But I thought I'd bring a friend along for the ride!" Without another word, he flung Pandora over his shoulder and leaped towards the box. The two of them disappeared without another word. The box itself shone too brightly for any of them to look at. When they could finally look back at it, the box was now a violent purple and orange color, and it was closed.

They all looked at each other. "Is it over?" asked Steve.

Jack picked up the box. "Of course it isn't," he said. "You heard him. They'll be back."

"What about the Master?" asked Sun Tzu. "Will he not attempt to find this box and open it?"

Jack nodded. "I don't think he'll be able to though," he said. "There's something inside it that he didn't intend to be grouped with his sins."

"What's that?" asked Harry.

Jack looked up at him solemnly. "Hope."


	23. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein, I merely make them dance in what I hope is true to their rhythm.

Epilogue

"So now what," asked Ron. "We're all gods now, right?"

"Not all of us," said Hermione softly. "We need a new Aphrodite."

Olympus had been the site of a memorial service for Pandora, who had been locked in the box with the homunculi, the evils that plague the world. The gods had all been in attendance, and they had even allowed the successors that had failed their tests to join. Ron had agreed to create rum for Captain Jack Sparrow, though Mrs. Weasley was very disapproving.

Helen of Troy had refused the invitation outright. She didn't want anything to do with the Greeks ever again.

"So we need to go get this Daenerys Targaryen then?" asked Ron.

Harry nodded. "I think we should bring Hagrid along though," he said. "Maybe bring your brother Charlie as well."

"Oh yeah," said Ron. "I forgot, she's the mother of dragons. We'll need some help in containing them if things get a bit too hot."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that will be a problem," she said, smiling. "I'm sure that Daenerys would be perfectly happy to keep her dragons in check, until we have need of them."

"Do you think she'll pass the test?" asked Hermes. He had finally healed of his wounds from Lust, and was enjoying some of Ron's special firewhiskey wine.

"Oh, I have no doubt of that," said Hermione. "She does love her children very much."

"And what about the box?" asked Harry. "Do you think it's safe where you put it?"

Jack nodded. "The Master will never think to look in suburban America for it. I just hope some stupid kid doesn't come across it and open it."


End file.
